My week as a Youth Worker

My week as a Youth Worker

Danielle, 17 tells us what she has been up to.

I have been working on Monday nights as usual at the Bancroft centre in Hitchin. This is where I help out with a club called ZAP. This is a Youth Club for the Asian community and the majority who go there are boys. When I'm there I do things to help out like set up the Playstation and racing car games. We recently had a Bollywood Singstar competition. The young people who attend this club also play table tennis, use the computers and play pool while listening to music.

I have also been working on Wednesday nights at the Bancroft Centre. There is a club called Snappy G's and this club is for young people with learning difficulties. Here, I have been playing pool with the young people and engaging in general chat about what they have been up to and what they have planned to do. I went on a residential trip during the summer and this is a topic that they like to talk to me about as it was a memory that we all share.

Tuesday mornings is also another day I work. This is an opportunity for me to catch up and have a chat with my line manager and discuss my future plans and tasks.

During my volunteering I have also been part of an interview panel at Youth Connexions offices in Stevenage. When I do interviewing, I am given some questions to ask the interviewee. This is a good opportunity for me to explore what youth work is. By people answering questions in their own words, I get to understand people's different interpretations of youth work and what they think appeals to young people like me and you.