Integrating young (ex-) offenders into youth work
Overview
The present work (Integrating young (ex-) offenders into youth work) is the result of the Erasmus+ KA2 project "Climb Over", aimed at facilitating the reintegration of young offenders and preventing youth from making offences by making a good use of youth work.
The paper contains useful guidelines for youth workers that want to carry out workshops and/or other activities in youth correctional facilities.
Untitled Section
Helping young (ex-)offenders is not easy, as it is not easy trying to help any other teenager. However, having in mind the complexity and difficulty of the backgrounds such convicted youngsters came from and experiences they had to live through and/or witness, makes them extra sensitive and vulnerable. This is why, having no prior experience in the field might determine some activities going not as wanted, despite all the planning efforts put way in advance.
To fill in this knowledge gap and make the activities easier and beneficial on both ends, different activities and youth work efforts were tested and carried out with (ex-)offenders in Lithuania, Croatia and the United Kingdom. The experiences, tips and things to consider when working with the group mentioned has been compiled as well as suggestions of what exciting activities might be initiated.