I came to work at WDP in January 2009. Prior to this I worked as a Youth Offending Team Officer at Milton Keynes for 4 years. I worked with young people aged 10 – 18 on court orders to address the factors that were causing them to offend, supporting them when applying for employment, or training and finding constructive activities for leisure time.

 

I am Senior Practitioner Family Worker at HertSpeak, a CoreKids project in Hertfordshire. I generate referrals to the project by liaising with local agencies and treatment providers, children, schools, families and children’s centres. I assess families and co-ordinate appointments with the Family Therapist and Play Therapist. I work directly with clients to provide practical parenting support; this might involve looking at issues around discipline, boundaries and meal times, to supporting clients at meetings regarding the care of their children. I also work individually with young people, again providing practical support, so we might look at issues such as self esteem and confidence.

 

HertSpeak is a alcohol hidden harm project funded by Comic Relief. It is unique in the locality in that we provide support for the whole family in whatever form best meets the client’s needs. We work with families to look at the effects of alcohol misuse, and provide a safe space for families to communicate their feelings around this issue. We also work with families affected by parental alcohol use which is a service urgently needed in Hertfordshire.

 

I feel that the biggest challenge that the project faces is the geography of the Hertfordshire. HertSpeak is based in Stevenage and for lots of families it is difficult to get here as the majority of our clients rely on public transport. Fortunatley, I can be flexible and meet families clos to their homes. We are also considering taking the work to one of the other three WDP offices in Herts and thinking about a home working policy.

 

When you have a session with a client and they say things such as, “thanks for just listening, it’s been good to get that off my chest” or “I haven’t been able to share that before”, I find those moments particularly rewarding.