Case studies Scroll down to read more about the people we help. Personal details have been changed and we have sometimes blended two or three case studies in order to anonymise further. Case studies are listed in alphabetical order. Appropriate Adult On Wednesday evening at 6.00pm YSS received a call from custody requesting an Appropriate Adult (AA), for a 15 year old boy, K, who had become involved in an altercation in the family home which resulted in him being arrested for criminal damage and assault. At the time of the arrest K’s mother was very upset and refused to act as his appropriate adult. When K arrived at Police custody he was angry and also anxious about the potential outcome of his police interview. A YSS volunteer AA arrived at 6.45pm and met with K to explain her role and what would be happening. K met with the duty solicitor and at 7.30pm was formally questioned by police with the duty solicitor and his AA present. The AA made sure that K was treated fairly and appropriately and understood the questions being asked. K engaged well with the process and the interview was completed in 30 minutes. K was subsequently bailed pending further investigation. Mum refused to have K back in the family home that night so the police made arrangements for him to stay with an aunt and arranged transport. The AA stayed with K throughout the process until he had left to be taken to the home of his aunt. At all times, the AA had the back up and support of an experienced YSS on call officer, to ensure the correct processes were being followed and answer any queries that arose. The AA left custody at 9pm, contacting the YSS on call officer to say they had arrived home safely at 930pm. Find out more about Appropriate Adult here. Chrysalis D was referred to YSS for support as she was in debt and was experiencing anxiety and depression. D was working part-time but was having a lot of time off work due to problems with her mental health. D completed an initial assessment and identified areas of support required on her action plan. Ensuring that appointments were arranged at times and places convenient to her, this face to face support was backed up with telephone calls and text messages. The YSS Keyworker supported D to attend a GP appointment for help with anixety and depression. As a result, she was prescribed anti-depressants, as well as medication to help with her anxiety. The YSS keyworker also referred D to a local counsellor for a free consultation. D has attended six counselling sessions so far and is now more confident and motivated to move forward with her life, which has also had a positive impact on her work attendance. D was in debt and budgeting her money was proving problematic, due to having a large amount of rent arrears. With neither of her eldest daughters being in receipt of benefits this was also impacting on D’s benefits. D and her YSS Keyworker liaised with the housing support team and they gave D an up to date statement of her rent arrears. With this account information the YSS keyworker completed a Smallwood Diversionary Activity Fund application to ask for funding to pay off D’s rent arrears to support her to become more financially resilient. The application was granted, with the YSS keyworker supporting D to pay her rent arrears. Following payment D stated that she has been able to pay her rent every week and still has money to buy shopping and pay the bills. In addition, the YSS Keyworker supported D’s daughters to apply for benefits, as this was impacting on D’s finances.D said: "It is great that someone is there for you to help with everything you have to cope with. I wouldn’t be able to deal with these issues on my own.” Read more about Chrysalis here. Enhanced Support Service N was sentenced to 18 months in prison following an incident with his ex-partner and as part of his license conditions on release he was not allowed to return to the area where his ex-partner was living, and needed to find new accommodation. Because he had been in prison for 18 months his benefits had stopped. All of his bank details and benefit information was still at his ex-partner’s property, and as he had not used his account for a while it had been closed. He did not have any ID as it was all left in London, which made getting his bank account open difficult. YSS completed a letter of introduction which helped him to reactivate his account, and also paid for a replacement birth certificate, so that he had basic ID and could apply for photo ID in the future. The YSS keyworker also supported N to apply for job seekers allowance and register with a local GP and dentist. With the support of YSS and the Police, N secured a property through a local Police housing scheme. A budget plan has been created for N and all his bills are set up. With the support of his YSS keyworker N is managing his money a lot better. YSS also sourced white goods, bedding and cutlery, for his new home. He said: "YSS was very helpful and helped me with any problems I had. Even though I am not an active case now I am still given advice if I need it.” To find out more about the Ehanced Support Service please click here. Meet and Mentor A was sentenced to an 18 month custodial sentence and is well known to the Police. A has several health needs, including Cancer of the spine, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Type 2 Diabetes. A was referred to YSS as he required additional support on his release from prison. On his release the main goal for A was to source appropriate and sustainable accommodation. A and his keyworker registered with the local housing association, completing the relevant housing paperwork. A was shown by his YSS Keyworker how to log on to the Home Choice Plus website and together A and his YSS keyworker began bidding on properties. A registered at his local library, which enabled him to bid on properties outside of his YSS appointments. The YSS keyworker contacted A in-between their appointments reminding him to continue to bid on properties. Following a number of conversations between A, his YSS keyworker and the local housing team, A was successful in sourcing a property, which was suitable for his needs. The YSS keyworker also supported A around his finances to ensure his benefits were being paid, whilst looking at his budgeting skills, to ensure that he could pay all of his household bills. Due to his ongoing health concerns A regularly visits his doctor and has numerous consultant appointments. The YSS keyworker reminds A about his appointments and transports him where required, motivating him to understand the importance of his medical appointments. A commented: 'I will miss the support from YSS but know that I have come so far. It was really easy to talk to my YSS keyworker because she came along and listened to me in a non-judgmental way, which made me feel I was able to be open and honest.' To find out more about Meet and Mentor please click here. Shropshire Targeted Early Help S is an 11 year old child of amicably separated parents. S has a learning disability and requires one to one support for most of the lessons. At the time of referral she was disruptive, unable to concentrate and displayed challenging behaviour at home and school. S's biggest issue was her ability to communicate her wishes, feelings and worries. She did not want to talk but was willing to listen. Keyworkers looked at different ways of communication and used a variety of materials (pictures, drawings, My Life Booklet etc) which helped S to improve her communication skills. Once S was able to talk she was then able to express her worries, which were surrounding her Mum’s mental health. She was very worried that Mum would not get better at all and she was unable to talk about this with Mum as she did not want to make her feel worse. Everything changed once Mum became aware of S’s worry about her wellbeing. Mum started to feel better after counselling and became gradually more involved with day to day care (shopping, making dinners, checking for and doing homework with children and overall having more time with them). S’s behaviour has significantly improved both in school and at home. Keyworkers helping Mum to look at job opportunities has increased her confidence and self-esteem, resulting in her securing a part-time job after being unemployed for 10 years. S still has some ongoing issues, however, she is no longer alone and now has parents that are able to help her deal with anything that may come her way. To find out more about Shropshire Targeted Early Help please click here. Worcestershire Young Carers S is 12 years old and helps support his mum who is bipolar. He has been a young carer for 3 years. He sometimes has to motivate mum to get up and dressed in the mornings and take a shower. He also helps with housework and cooking when Mum's mood is low and generally tries to cheer her up when she feels down. On top of this, S is responsible for getting his lunch ready and being on time for school. S was being bullied at school and this, as well as the everyday stresses of worrying about his mum, left him with low confidence and low self-esteem. Worcestershire Young Carers provided S with one to one support . During the one to one support S opened up to his keyworker which led to a referral for S to receive counselling. This helped him work through his worries and fears. His Keyworker stayed in touch through emails, texts and face to face meetings to provide ongoing support . S was also encouraged to access his local rugby club where he became a member, made lots of new friends and continues to attend. This increased his confidence and self-esteem a great deal which had a positive impact on his school life. The Keyworker liaised with school around the bullying issues which were resolved. In addition to the one to one support, S was a regular face at Worcestershire Young Carers monthly clubs where he met other young people in a similar situation to himself and made lots of new friends. He continues to attend the clubs and has also had the opportunity to join trips in the school holidays such as a visit to the seaside and fishing . To find out more about Worcestershire Young Carers please click here.