Chief Operating Officer, Braveheart Industries
“You guys did more than your job. You were actually there. You actually cared about us as a family and that was amazing.”
The You Decide Team (YDT) provides a fixed-term intervention and referral service working with adults, young people, and families across the city of Glasgow. The service supports include, but are not limited to, desistance from violence and crime, victims of crime, addiction and recovery support, mental health support, housing support and access to employment and volunteering opportunities.
YDT offers person-centred, non-judgmental, and confidential support with each of our navigators tailoring their support to what each client decides is right for them.
Over the last 12 months, we successfully supported 177 people, including seventy-five who returned for further support, after receiving help from us previously. In that period 521 positive outcomes were secured for clients by our team of six Navigators, including continued support from court to custody to community reintegration following release.
Our clients frequently tell navigators that the service the YD provides is unique to any other support they have received previously. Leading to more secure engagement, particularly when users have previously disengaged from other services.
What do we do? – The You Decide Team service can & does work with individuals at whichever junction they happen to be at. Increasingly this includes support for individuals who are or have displayed offending behaviour, with targeted desistence interventions being put in place to prevent their behaviour from escalating to charges or conviction.
Client “A” is a 15-year-old male who engaged well with support delivered by the YDT for a period of three months. “A” was referred to YDT by his school. He had already been identified as being involved in youth violence in his local area, his disengagement from school and concerns over his behaviours and risk to him also flagged.
“A” had experienced multiple deaths of close family members in his life in recent years. His regular use of cannabis as a form of self-medication for his ongoing symptoms of dissociation was also concerning.
“A” felt that he could be open and honest with navigators from the very beginning of his support and within this safe space he confirmed he understood the impacts of his behaviour and he felt this must change due to the dangers he faced in multiple areas of the city.
He realised this was already having a detrimental effect on his educational opportunities and his freedom of movement was curtailed due the risks he faced.
A received weekly support sessions with navigators who jointly were able to gather information about his interests and goals for the future. An arrangement with his school allowed him to progress with Joinery and Bricklaying courses through Tigers Group (https://tigersgroup.co.uk/) as well as arranging 1:1 support with Maths and English qualifications in school.
“A” achieved National 3 qualification in both subjects, increasing his potential to secure an apprenticeship.
Navigators also learned that “A” used to train in boxing with a family member, so were able to link him in with a coach at a local boxing gym.
A’s confidence had developed enough for him to attend these sessions independently involving him in an activity he enjoyed reducing his boredom and isolation.
A was also linked in with the Youth Health Service for counselling, leading him to identify his use of cannabis as a trigger that was worsening his mental health, with him now stopping.
“I think the other organisations that have helped us, it was just a 9-5, but with you guys it wasn’t. You actually wanted to be there, you actually wanted to do the job and wanted to support us.”
The work of the YDT has led to significant local partnerships in the community and citywide with Police Scotland & One Glasgow supporting adults & young people to address their behaviour and mitigate reoffending.
The work of the YDT has led to significant local partnerships in the community and citywide with Police Scotland & One Glasgow supporting adults & young people to address their behaviour and mitigate reoffending.