Page 8 - Real Rochdale Issue 16 Winter 2022

25 years of Rochdale Case study: young person B

B presented with high levels of anxiety due emotions, but struggles when discussing
Connections Trust to his position at home and was unable to coping mechanisms for difficult feelings.
label or express his emotions.
He has responded well to consistent
From a very young age, B was relied on as support, allowing him to recognise and
Rochdale Connections Trust is a local charity which ‘the man of the house’ whilst his dad was in have confidence in his strengths. His social
provides a range of valuable support services to prison. He cared for his younger sister and anxiety has reduced and his self-esteem
young people, adults and families who are finding took on many responsibilities. They were increased.
life difficult. sometimes left unsupervised, and he had to Following on from B’s increased
prepare food and settle his sister into bed. B
is very protective over his sister and has little self-esteem, B has explored what he
Established in 1997 by a group of youth court magistrates – concerned by the number of young people coming time to be a child. enjoys and what makes him happy, so that
before them who had little or no family support – RCT set about to help them return to education and training via a his hopes and dreams for the future can
range of social inclusion intervention programmes.
He was withdrawn around other children and be used as a coping mechanism. B created
Since then, it has evolved to include work with socially isolated adults and those with complex needs, whilst often felt lonely in group settings as he felt a ‘Dream Jar’, which he can keep in his
remaining highly committed to their original targeted youth support programme. unable to connect with others. B had very bedroom and ‘charge’ with happy dreams
low self-esteem and a lack of confidence, was when he is feeling worried or upset. B
Referrals are received from a range of agencies, services and statutory bodies, including social services, the youth struggling to make eye contact and was enjoyed having something special that he
offending service, probation, schools and CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services). unable to start conversations. Due to this, made himself to take home and use, and
B was easily led by his older friends and had was confident in naming what his hopes
A range of services are provided by fully trained staff and volunteers, including young people mentoring, female and little awareness of how to play safely in his for the future are.
male ‘Freedom Programmes’, literacy and numeracy courses and parenting courses, to name but a few. neighbourhood. B had a negative
self-outlook and never believed that he was
It takes around £600,000 to keep the charity running for a year, with funding coming from a range of places,
including Lloyds Bank, the National Lottery and small private funders. good enough at anything and often said that
he ‘can’t do it’ or ‘is rubbish’.
Here they demonstrate their success across various demographics with these two case studies.
Since joining the programme, B has
experienced lots of changes in his home life:
Case study: referral for gambling programme his dad has returned and his mum became

pregnant. B has mixed feelings about these
At her initial assessment with RCT, we We have also supported her to put boundaries changes. So much change and uncertainty
established that she had a daughter removed in place in her strained relationship with her at such a young age, together with a lack of
into care when she was younger. She said she son which has now improved immensely. coping skills, has been the main focus for B’s
still struggled with the emotional trauma this This lady also has some issues with the support.
had caused and had not dealt with it. She also property she currently lives in: we have been
disclosed that she was isolated and lonely. working with her and her housing officer to After joining the youth group with his
start a home exchange so she’s happier in her sister, it was identified that B needed a space
Due to this, we offered her the option of home. away from his sister that was just for him,
attending one of our groups for isolated and where he could express himself and play
vulnerable women and subsequently our When this lady started in the group, she said more freely. Therefore, B was referred for
in-house counselling service. she had no hope for the future. As part of 1-2-1 person-centred ‘thera-play’ sessions
the group she has written goals she wants to with a keyworker.
She has now been attending since February and achieve over the next year and has started
has grown in confidence within the group. feeling hopeful and positive about her life. During his 1-2-1 sessions, B is provided with
As part of the group, we have supported her a safe space where he can share his thoughts
with personal issues she’s had in a previous The peer support provided in the group has and feelings, practise emotional regulation,
relationship which ended in 2021 but was still made her realise she isn’t alone in her situation learn coping skills and resilience, and grow
causing her some issues, due to emotional and is allowing her to heal from the past. She his confidence and self-esteem, whilst being
manipulation. does still have her bad days but will reach out creative and being a child. He is becoming
to group facilitators for support. more confident at naming different

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