St Basils – Participation and Peer Education

BASIC INFORMATION

Case study date: February 2006

Local authority in which project based: Birmingham, Solihull and Redditch

Date started: STaMP started in 2003 YAB in 2005

Type of organisation

Charity and housing association

Brief description

St Basils works with young people aged 16 to 25 to enable them to find and keep a home, to develop their confidence, skills and opportunities, and to prevent homelessness. It has developed a range of services for young people at risk, including providing accommodation and support for around 400 young people in Birmingham, Solihull and Redditch. It is committed to involving young people at all levels of the organisation, with young people involved in setting standards, identifying priorities and improving services, in particular through its youth advisory board. St Basils also supports the Schools Training and Mentoring Project (STaMP), through which young people are involved in peer education and mentoring on housing and homelessness issues, in order to prevent homelessness among other young people.

Collaboration

Partners include local authorities, Birmingham education and housing departments, Foyer Federation, housing providers, police, youth services, Connexions and Birmingham Youth Offending Service. STaMP works with a range of partners in Solihull including Connexions, local young people's employment agencies, and the Youth Offending Team.

Funding

Youth Advisory Board allocated £10,000 by St Basils. STaMP is funded through Excellence in Cities (Birmingham City Council) and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council Housing Strategy Team until March 2006.

Staffing

Specialist staff: full-time youth participation coordinator, full-time STaMP coordinator, plus three other staff. All staff and managers are expected to support participation.

NATURE OF PROVISION

Which groups of young people does the project work with?

St Basils works with over 3,500 young people aged 16 to 25 each year, and provides accommodation and support for around 400 young people. In 2004-05 just over half of young people using the service were male. Half were white and one third were African-Caribbean. 20 young people have been involved in the youth advisory board (YAB) since April 2004, while the Schools Training and Mentoring Project (StaMP) has involved 25 young people to date.

How was the need for user involvement identified?

In April 2004 St Basils employed a youth participation worker to involve young people at all levels of the organisation. Over several months young people from different projects and services worked together to consult other young people and develop a proposal for a youth advisory board with a formal role in governance. In December 2004 the board of directors agreed funding of £10,000 for the YAB.

STaMP was set up following research into youth homelessness commissioned by St Basils and other partners. This involved over 5,000 young people, of whom 3,000 had been homeless. It found that many young people felt that their homelessness could have been avoided with better support and information. A successful application was made to Birmingham City Council to develop a homelessness prevention project.

How do young people become involved? What, if any, commitment do you ask for?

Recruitment for the first YAB started in January 2005. Every young person living in St Basils accommodation or receiving its services was invited to put themselves forward for a place, and 39 young people (around 10 per cent of residents) applied for the 15 places on the board. The YAB meets on the first Saturday each month, with additional meetings to take forward particular pieces of work. YAB members are expected to remain on the board for one year, attend all meetings where possible, and play a full role in the group. They undergo a three-month probation period. When vacancies arise young people are invited to apply, and are then interviewed by existing YAB members.

STaMP encourages and supports young people from all ethnic backgrounds to draw on their own experiences of homelessness to educate and mentor other young people. The programme aims to be flexible to meet young people's individual needs, for instance allowing lone mothers to combine child-raising with part-time work and mentoring training.

What are the main approaches used and activities offered?

St Basils encourages all service users to be involved in decision-making at both personal and community levels, with training and support as necessary. A 'menu of involvement' sets out the range of options for engagement. This includes two specific projects:

Youth Advisory Board - 15 members who represent young people on a wide range of issues and report directly to St Basils managers and the Board. It is supported by two facilitators and a secretary. YAB considers St Basils' policies, takes part in service inspections and contributes to business planning and service development processes.
Schools Training and Mentoring Project (STaMP) - residents from St Basils (and other local housing projects) work with staff to deliver peer education workshops and presentations to raise awareness of homelessness with year 10-11 students and young people in youth centres. They undertake a 12-week 'Professional Futures' training programme, including three supervision sessions encouraging them to reflect on their development and achievements.The group has produced a DVD on homelessness to use with young people, and has worked with the Children's Society to produce a film to accompany their good practice guide for work with young runaways. Members have also delivered training sessions to youth workers and Connexions advisers.

The peer mentors' group involves 16-19 year-olds who undertake a seven- week training course delivered in partnership with two local FE colleges. One peer mentor is currently working with six young women at risk of exclusion as part of a local school's Behavioural Improvement Programme.

In addition to these two projects, St Basils offers other opportunities for young people to improve the service and contribute to the wider community. These include:

Policy to practice - a team of inspectors, including young people, make unannounced visits to all projects at least once a year, to help them improve their services to young people.

Involvement in staff selection and induction.

Service assessment - including satisfaction questionnaires, complaints, comments and compliments slips, attending meetings.
Involvement on working groups (e.g. the diversity and equality group).
Involvement in St Basils' annual 'speak-out' event, providing managers and staff with feedback about its services. This links into a national 'speak-out' event run by Groundswell campaigning group, providing a national platform to influence housing services.
Residents' newsletters, informing other young people about news and events.
Fund-raising - both to develop St Basils' services and to respond to wider needs, such as the Tsunami.

How does the project respond to the needs of different young people, particularly the most marginalised?

St Basils aims to support young people on the margins of society to make a success of their lives and contribute to the lives of others. It includes provision and support tailored to the needs of specific groups, including gay and lesbian young people, young mothers, young offenders, and young people using drugs. The YAB has developed strategies to ensure a diverse representation, including provision to co-opt one young person from outside St Basils.

OUTCOMES OF WORK

How do young people benefit from their involvement in the project?

Involvement in YAB and STaMP encourages young people to reach their full potential and increase their confidence and self-esteem. Many are interested in careers in youth work or youth support, and the Professional Futures programme develops a range of relevant skills, including communication and presentation, groupwork, and delivering activities. It also covers professional boundaries, equal opportunities and diversity, confidentiality and child protection.

YAB members gain a range of skills including planning and budgeting, communication and leadership. They learn about organisational processes and how to make choices within finite resources. Experienced trainers provide training on areas identified by young people in their monthly meetings or supervisions. Topics have included equal opportunities and diversity, teambuilding, chairing meetings and writing bids.

How do others (young people, organisations or the wider community) benefit from the project?

All young people using St Basils benefit from YAB's work to ensure that the organisation's services meet their needs. STaMP has delivered sessions to nearly 5,000 young people across Birmingham and Solihull. Feedback from students indicates that the peer educators are seen as a credible source of information, while teachers often comment on students' improved behaviour. STaMP encourages young people to leave home in a planned way - an evaluation found that one third of students changed their minds about the right age for leaving home after taking part in a session, revising it upwards from 16 to 19.

How are young people's achievements measured and recorded?

St Basils runs an annual achievement awards scheme, which includes awards for community contribution and youth participation. Participants on the Professional Futures course can gain accreditation through Millennium Volunteers, and an optional route into a Mentoring OCN level 2 qualification. Involvement in both STaMP and YAB can provide evidence for an OCN life skills qualification.

MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS

How is the project evaluated?

Internally, St Basils' performance indicators include residents' satisfaction with participation opportunities, membership of the youth advisory board and young people's involvement in internal inspection. External evaluation includes an Audit Commission inspection in 2003, and an evaluation of STaMP undertaken by Birmingham University in 2004.

St Basils has won a number of awards including The National Housing Association's Inbiz 'Customer Engagement' Award (2005); 'Learning in Communities' section of the Birmingham Lifelong Learning Awards (2004); and the Chartered Institute of Housing West Midlands Branch innovation award for STaMP (2003).

What are the findings of any evaluations to date?

Audit Commission inspection found that St Basils consulted extensively with residents at all levels, resulting in 'genuine involvement that clearly influences service delivery'.

St Basils work in tackling homelessness by working in partnerships with the local authorities in Birmingham, Redditch and Solihull has been recognised in the Housing Corporation's presigious Gold Award's (2006).

What changes/developments have occurred - or are planned - as a result of evaluation?

St Basils' Statement of Involvement set by the Housing Corporation.

What factors help the work?

Placing young people's own experiences at the centre of service development and peer education and mentoring.

Committing resources to support youth participation and peer education, including dedicated staff, support for the YAB similar to that for the main board, training and access to qualifications for young people, and realistic expenses including travel and childcare.
Ensuring that the YAB is a central part of St Basils' governance structure, reporting directly to the main board.

STRATEGIC IMPACT

How do you disseminate the learning from the project?

Young people have made presentations on youth homelessness at national and local projects.

Has the learning from this work influenced wider organisational/service strategies?

The project encourages young people to draw on their own experiences to influence policy and service delivery beyond St Basils. STaMP plays an important part in the city's homelessness prevention strategy. The YAB has run a planning workshop on the 'involvement statement' for the housing corporation.

What plans do you have to sustain/develop this work?

The YAB is developing policies and approaches to ensure that other young people can carry on with the work once the original members have moved on. STaMP is working towards gaining Mentoring and Befriending Foundation Approved Standard Provider status.

CONTACT DETAILS

Catherine Clarke, St Basils, Heath Mill Lane, Birmingham B9 4AX. Tel: 0121 772 2483.
E-mail: info@stbasils.org.uk. Website: http://www.stbasils.org.uk/