Listen Up - Social Welfare Portal

listenup!Case Study 6 | 107not technical and which avoids pathologising andstigmatising. This tool enables The Market Place toassess the impact of its one-to-one support and hasbeen in use since July 2005.Service catchment areaYoung people from the Leeds area can access theMarket Place.ReferralsThe Market Place accepts referrals from all sources.Self referrals are actively encouraged, although theorganisation also receives referrals from a numberof statutory services, including GP and Child andAdolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) allyoung people at the Market Place have the samerights of access. Staff working within differentparts of the project also make internal referrals; if ayoung person attending counselling was in need ofmore practical support, for instance, they can referthemselves to either the Drop-in, One-to-one or MyPlan services.Referral details in January-March 2006During this three-month period, there were a totalof 161 referrals to The Market Place. Self referralsaccounted for 59% of initial appointments, with afurther 20% being referred by a parent or friend, and19% by various professionals in the statutory sector.Individual reasons for referral were not recorded forthis period as these are instead collected annually toprovide a snapshot of the diversity and complexity ofthe issues raised at the point of referral.Referred young people’s details in January– March 2006In this time period, 52 young people age 16 andunder were offered an appointment of which 36(70%) attended. 58 young people between 17 and19 were offered an appointment of which 37 (64%)attended. 37 young people between 20 and 25 wereoffered an appointment of which 25 (68%) attended.Gender data was not available.The majority (84%) of the young people were of WhiteBritish origin. Of the 16% who identified as beingfrom a minority ethnic group, 2% were of Indian andPakistani origin, 1% of British Asian, 2% White other, 1%Black other, 1% other mixed race and 3% Black British.The largest of the minority groups were of Caribbeanorigin, with 2% identified as Black Caribbean and 4%as mixed White and Black Caribbean.What the service offers• drop-in service offering support, information andsignposting• counselling• individual emotional and practical support• ‘My Plan’ personal development• early intervention in crisis• long-term support• the opportunity to join a participation group.Family/carer involvementThe Market Place often supports parents makingreferrals to the organisation. There is also oftenan impact on the family circumstances whensupporting young people. However, The MarketPlace does not work directly with families or carers,helping to ensure that the project’s position as aconfidential, young person centred space is retained.If a young person were though to request that theservice take a more active role in supporting theirfamily relationship then staff would suggest a moreappropriate organisation that was experienced inworking with the whole family unit.