OUR WORK: Just like a family home

The YMCA Norfolk house, on Woolstencroft Avenue in King's Lynn, is just like many other family homes, the only difference being it has eight teenagers in residence which, as you can imagine, makes it a lively place to be.

 

The other difference is that all the young people have, for one reason or another, left their own family homes and faced up to being homeless. They are all now under the watchful eye of a team of professional support workers from YMCA Norfolk, led by Sue Needham.

 

Like any other home with teenagers, mornings are quite hectic, packed bathrooms, a quick breakfast and off to college, training or a street soccer course.

 

At dinner time, everyone sits down round one big table to enjoy shepherd's pie, spaghetti bolognese or chicken curry, cooked with the help of one or more of the young residents, and the conversations start to flow.

 

"A lot of the young people we have here have never sat round a table to eat a meal with their family," says Sue. "After a week or two they find it much easier to join in and it helps them to make friends and settle in.

 

Afterwards, they watch TV in the communal lounge, play board games or on the PlayStation or maybe go out somewhere together.

 

"I have been her seven years now," says Sue. "It is part of my life, it is in my heart. It is more than just a job. I would like to think that if my children were in the same position as these young people, then someone else would treat them in the same way - to be sincere with them and have a bit of empathy.

 

"This is their home and someone is always here for them and to support them. We want them to feel safe and secure, loved and part of a family, but we still encourage contact with their own families, which is very important."

 

The residents all have to take part in a rota of chores, all part of the life skills training necessary to prepare them for the day when they leave, often to live in a flat on their own. They are taught how to Hoover, clean a bathroom, sweep the yard, clean the microwave, keep themselves in good shape and even cook a roast meal for everyone.

 

"This job is more than a wage packet and I feel that the more you put into it the more you get out," says Sue. "You want to feel that you have made a difference in their lives, guided them down the right path."

 

"Sue has the ability to bring the best out of the young people," said scheme supervisor Mandy Keegan, who has herself been involved with Woolstencroft Avenue for a decade.

 

"We try to build up trust, then they can feel free to unload when necessary. It is sad but that is how they feel.

 

"One young girl, let's call her Sharon, 'went to college and came back an alien', according to her mum. The reason was that she had been sexually abused by her grandfather since she was 12. The grandfather died while she was with us and she then felt able to say something and let it all come out.

 

"We got her into counselling and talked with her when she wanted to. Then, one evening, her mum came to visit and I sat in with them, when Sharon told her everything. It ended up with the two of them attending counselling together and they were reunited and Sharon returned home."

 

Over the ten years, Mandy has seen over 200 young people pass through her care. Now she cannot go shopping in King's Lynn without someone stopping her for a chat.

 

"I still love it as much as the first day I started," said Mandy. "It just becomes part of your life. When you get the thank-you letters ten years later, then you know you have made a difference."