From Despair to Joy

There are occasions, thankfully not many, when in the course of a single working day I can go from feelings of total despair at one end to absolute joy at the other. This week I experienced one of those days.

I spent the morning in a scruffy meeting room with nine other people, including representatives from the police, housing and social services. We had gathered together to carry out a case review of one of our many young people in care. It did not make for pleasant hearing. What followed was a morning in which the focus was on how best this young person could be supported within a chaotic traumatic environment, in which drug use, abuse, criminal damage, theft, financial worries, family breakdown, eviction and homelessness formed a vicious and seemingly endless cycle of self-destructive behaviour, very likely to end in premature death.

What quickly became apparent is the extent to which, willingly or under coercion, this young person had made some choices that are aiding and abetting this dysfunctional lifestyle.

One of the key issues, and I have personal experience of this, is that troubled youngsters tend to naturally want to associate with others in a similar situation, resulting in a self- perpetuating cycle of destruction. They may have a natural desire to disengage from communication with authority figures that pose a threat to them, whether this threat is perceived or real.

What did come out of this meeting was the extent to which all of those involved were bending over backwards to provide a level of support that goes way beyond the job description, often responding 24 hours a day to issues beyond their control.

What is troubling is that in a time of crisis, which can occur frequently and suddenly, the young person needs helpnow. Only half in jest, I made the suggestion that what was needed was a flying squad, a dedicated professional hit team, available at a moment’s notice to scoop them up and save the day, until the next time around. I have since learnt that this is an option being considered. 

What was also clear is that each of us, within our own communities, need to recognise that such vulnerable youngsters live on our doorsteps, in our towns and villages. They are not faceless people we can remain remote from. Whilst it is up to the local authority to protect our vulnerable and troubled youngsters and never, ever, give up on them, as individuals we can also play our part. This can be difficult to do where the effects of anti-social behaviour can have a negative impact on us all but sometimes we need to look beyond this to consider the underlying issues that cause it.

On a much more positive and cheerful note I ended the day with a visit to Fiveways Special School, where they had their open evening. I have been a governor at this outstanding and very special school for many years, and each and every time I visit I come away with feelings of pride out of all proportion to the contribution I make towards improving the lives of these vulnerable children. I cannot begin to describe the joy this gives me, thanks to a dedicated team of fantastic caring staff. What I am mindful of though is that there was a time when these children would have been written off too. We cannot fix everything in our broken society but it does not mean that we should not try our best.