Listen Up - Social Welfare Portal

listenup!Case Study 8 | 115ReferralsIceBreak accepts referrals from any source, whetherprofessional agencies, friends, family or the youngperson themselves.Referral details in January-March 2006A total of 24 young people were referred to IceBreakduring this period for a variety of reasons. Many hadmore than one reason for referral with the mostcommon reasons being: self-harm (71%); drug andalcohol misuse (46%); and emotional difficulties (50%).Some were also referred because of eating problems(8%). A third of these young people were referredby voluntary services, including the Zone, while themajority (63%) came through statutory services.Referred young people’s details in January– March 200671% of the young people were aged between 16 and21, with the remaining 29% being aged between 22and 25. 46% of the young people were female and54% were male. All of the young people accessingthe service were of White British origin.What the service offers• provision of care co-ordination for young peopleentering the service• drop-in service• group work• personal development, emotional literacy andexpressive groups• dialectical behaviour therapy• development of life skills• links with other local activities and youth groups• flexible support.Family/carer involvementIf a young person is comfortable with theinvolvement of their family or carer, then this isactively encouraged. Direct requests from familiesare also considered. The form the involvement willtake depends on the individual’s situation and theirpreference. Families could be consulted on theprogress of the young person and whether there arefurther actions that IceBreak could take, or the familymay be brought into the project itself for sessionswith a family therapist.Current programme prioritiesi. ReferralsAt present, only approximately half the referralsmade to the project are appropriate. As an earlyintervention service, the project is not set up tocope with high numbers of young people whoare already experiencing crisis. A priority of theservice is to reassess and more tightly defineits referral criteria to ensure that the group ofyoung people who access the project can behelped by it. This process is constrained by thefunding environment; if the project continuesto be funded as a mental health project, thenthey have a duty to support young peoplepresenting with suicide tendencies, self-harmand serious emotional and behavioural problems.To pursue a more generic approach, fundingwould have to be sought as part of a supportedpeople programme or within a social services oreducation setting.ii. Linking with schoolsIceBreak’s personal development team is planningto develop work in schools, focusing on topicssuch as building confidence and self-esteem.