Case Studies

Mary* is 17 and attends a training organisation. Mary lives with her mother, who has mental health issues and attends a local hospital for treatment, and four siblings. Her father is an alcoholic and she has not had contact with him for almost a year. Mary’s older brother cares for her mother and ensures she takes the right medication, while Mary helps look after her younger siblings.

When Mary was 14 she was sexually abused by a family member; this was extremely traumatic for Mary and her family. Mary made her family aware of the abuse last year and is waiting for the case to go to court. She is having a hard time having to ‘relive’ the abuse in preparation for court proceedings.

Mary’s partner lives in a hostel and is a drug user. When he does not pay his drug debt the dealers come after Mary for the money. Mary feels trapped in the relationship, as she loves her partner and wants to help him get his life back on track.

Mary has been working with a mentor for the last few months to put support strategies in place, which help her cope better with the issues most affecting her.

Mary, who finds it difficult to talk to her family and friends about the abuse, said:

“I love coming to see you [mentor] because when I talk to you I know you listen to me, you have really helped me through these last few months in my life, thank-you.”

February 2011, Mary sent a text message to her mentor one evening asking if they could meet with her the next day. Prior to the text Mary had attempted to take her own life as she felt she “couldn’t do this no more.” The two met the next day. Mary is still building coping strategies and continues with her mentoring support. She is still attending the training organisation.

*real name has been changed to protect identity

Jane* is 16 and currently attends a training organisation. Her mother is unwell and her step-father works night shifts, so sleeps during the day. Jane cares for her younger sister and takes care of running the home. Jane is keen to address these responsibilities with her mother.

Jane was very close to her grand-father, who passed away last year. This has had a big impact on Jane and her training work.

When she was 12 her father was convicted of sexually abusing children. Jane did not have a great relationship with her father; but feels that what he did has reflected on her. Jane’s peers at school and in her local community were aware of these events as reports were detailed in the local press. She has a lot of questions she needs answers to before she can move on; but is unsure how to approach the subject with her mother.

Jane meets regularly with a mentor. They discuss the many different ways she could start a conversation with her mother about the issues affecting her most; however is still very apprehensive to ask questions about her father.
Jane, who thinks having a mentor to talk to is amazing, said:

“You [the mentor] have helped me so much. Just having someone to listen to me and give me advice is great and now I feel I am getting somewhere and will finally be able to put this all behind me and move on.”

*real name has been changed to protect identity

Gregg* is 17 and attends a training organisation. Before Gregg was referred to Include Youth for support with anger management he had pled guilty to an assault offence against his best friend and was referred to a Youth Diversion Officer for a Youth Conference.

His relationship with his girlfriend was one of mistrust and controlling behaviour, displayed by both parties.

He showed signs of mental ill health and as a result isolated himself from his friends and family. He used cannabis and prescription medication as a coping mechanism.

Gregg also had negative experiences at both primary school and post-primary school, having been extensively bullied. To deal with the trauma of bullying he developed negative coping strategies, including aggressive outbursts and unhealthy attempts to suppress emotions. The physical element of the bullying ended when Gregg stood up to the bullies with an angry outburst; however emotional and psychological bullying developed in its place. He was labelled ‘psycho’ and ‘schizoid’. Gregg identified his aggressive approach as functional and adopted it as his defence mechanism for dealing with future confrontation.

He had secured a work placement within a training organisation and was regarded a reliable and trustworthy student; however at the time of his referral to Include Youth his time keeping, attendance and appearance had deteriorated.

Gregg initially showed resistance to some of the topics covered in the one-to-one mentoring; however has since formed a trusting relationship with his mentor and has started to benefit from some of the techniques covered. Gregg ended his relationship with his girlfriend and has sought medical intervention for his depression.

Ten weeks into the one-to-one mentoring programme Gregg attended the Youth Conference. He was fearful of the outcome as he did not want to compromise his own beliefs by apologising to his friend, who he felt had done wrong by making sexual advances towards his girlfriend in the first place; he wasn’t confident that he could manage his anger appropriately; and he didn’t want to be made look like a ‘monster’ during the process. The mentor attended the conference with him for support.

During the Youth Conference Gregg spoke well and apologised for his behaviour towards his victim; likewise his victim apologised for his behaviour that precipitated the attack. He was under intense questioning and left the room at one stage to employ some rehearsed anger management techniques, he then returned and conducted himself appropriately.

Gregg is currently engaged in specialist counselling and attending a community drug programme. He maintains his work placement at the training organisation and his employers have said his time keeping is exemplary; attendance has somewhat improved; and a supportive relationship with his tutor continues.

*real name has been changed to protect identity

Megan* attends a training organisation. She recently moved to Northern Ireland and is in the process of building relationships with other young people and staff members. She has very few support networks and feels isolated.

During a group session on mental ill health and suicide awareness with 16 and 17 year olds, as part of the Getting Ahead Programme, Megan came to the attention of the facilitator who noticed that she appeared uncomfortable.
The facilitator decided to give the group a ten minute comfort break so she could approach Megan and ask how she was feeling. Megan disclosed that she had been sexually abused, previously self-harmed and had attempted to take her own life more than once. Megan was very upset and distressed, so the facilitator felt it imperative to give her the opportunity to talk about what she was feeling in a one-to-one session in a quiet room.

In a safe environment, Megan disclosed her abuse to the facilitator and asked if she could accompany her to the police station to make an official complaint. The facilitator brought the young person to the police station and supported her through the process.

Following Megan’s statement to the police, the facilitator brought her home to make sure she was left in the appropriate care of another adult. The facilitator made sure Megan had a means of contacting her at all times.

For the last two months Megan has been attending weekly one-to-one mentoring sessions with her facilitator at the Include Youth office. She prefers to meet there as she does not want other people to know about the sessions and finds it easier to express her emotions outside of the training environment.

The one-to-one mentoring process is building her confidence dramatically and she is really benefiting from the process. The mentor has also networked with external agencies and as a result Megan is now receiving professional counselling from Nexus in her local area. They are also in process of applying for financial support due to her circumstances and the difficulties this poses.

Megan, who wasn’t sure how staff within the training organisation might have reacted, said:

“I couldn’t talk to anyone within my training organisation as I see them every day and it would be too difficult to share such intimate issues.”

The Getting Ahead Programme provides opportunities for groups to openly discuss several topics of a sensitive nature with facilitators who have the opportunity to build relationships and get to know the young people on a more in depth level.

Megan feels that due to the rapport the Getting Ahead Programme allows young people to build with the facilitator, she could speak more openly to staff at Include Youth.

The mentor feels the opportunity for Megan to take part in the Getting Ahead Programme and the mentoring process has had a life changing effect on her life.

*real name has been changed to protect identity

Katie* attends a training organisation and has been receiving one-to-one mentoring since December 2010.

Prior to the mentoring she was part of the Getting Ahead Programme, which her current mentor facilitated. During these group sessions the facilitator found her to be extremely difficult to work with, as she didn’t want to engage.

Katie would constantly text on her mobile phone or sit with her head on the table. The facilitator tried to speak to her about this when the group were having a break or when the group had finished; again she refused to talk.

The facilitator consulted with her key worker about her behaviour, who said she does this in all her classes and is asked to leave as a result.

At the next group work session the facilitator addressed the group and told them that if anyone didn’t want to be there they could leave of their own free will. Katie stayed. The facilitator decided not to put her out of class, as that seemed to be the normal approach, instead Katie was offered mentoring by her support worker in the hope that it would encourage her to take part in her classes.

At first the mentoring was difficult as Katie did not want to engage; but after a few sessions she began to open up more as she became comfortable with the mentor, who she had started to build a rapport with.

Katie confided in the mentor that she did not enjoy the group work sessions as she had literacy and numeracy issues and found it extremely depressing as she had difficulty telling the time.

In the past she has come to the attention of the PSNI due to involvement in criminal behaviour. She has also had issues with drugs and alcohol misuse. During the mentoring sessions they work towards addressing her literacy and numeracy needs; behaviour; education around the dangers of drugs and alcohol misuse; and other factors affecting her health and well being.

The mentor believes Katie has made considerable progress since starting one-to-one mentoring and appears more confident; has a positive attitude; and is always looking for opportunities to develop her skills.

Staff from the training organisation have also commented on the change in her attitude and outlook in life, describing her as “a different person.”

The mentor continues to work with her on a weekly basis and her attendance and level of engagement is excellent. Katie appears to be benefitting from these sessions and is definitely developing and progressing as a person.

*real name has been changed to protect identity