Detached resources for workers
On this page you can find resources to help you with your practise as a detached youth worker. Suggestions are welcomed to update the page.
Starting out
Whether new or established it’s essential for any detached project to undergo reconnaissance to gain an understanding of the local area. This should include boundary setting, planning, walking the streets, building contacts with other agencies that work in the area, making contact with groups or individual young people, and recommendations for future development. This will help clearly define how the project fits into the local community and what will happen next.
Detached Methods
DYW is very different from centre or building based youth work as it takes place in young peoples’ territory. For this reason points on the core values of youth work are brought into sharp focus. The federation of detached youth work (http://www.detachedyouthwork.info/) states these core values to be...
· The relationship with young people remains voluntary.
· Service delivered in according to the needs of young people.
· ‘Power base’ remains with young people, not adults or authority.
This gives DYW’ers a unique situation ideally suited to generating new learning opportunities and personal development.
Contact
We may feel under pressure as detached workers to rush things as expectations on targets and from funders heighten, however it is important to remember that building mutual trusting relationships takes time.
Your initial contact with young people should simply be and introduction to who you are, don’t let fear of having to go further prevent you from approaching young people. It may be valuable to have the participation model above with you whilst on detached. Think about the different groups you work with and what types of intervention could progress them up to the next level.
Building relationships with young people on detached
Below is the model known as Johari’s window. It describes the four areas of ourselves and is often used to describe the process of building relationships with yourself as well as others.
By enlarging our public self and decreasing our hidden selves and blind spots we can learn about one another and build relationships, activities especially on detached are fantastic at doing this. Here are a few to try but think creatively, detached work gives an enormous amount of freedom to try new approaches so start inventing some of your own.
Ultimate football (outdoors, large group)
Play on a rugby style pitch with end zones marked at either end. The object is to cross the goal line with the Frisbee. Play consists not in running but in passing the Frisbee downfield. If a Frisbee holder does not pass by the time a covering player has counted to ten, the Frisbee holder is free to run and be tackled by the opposing team. The Frisbee changes teams in case of tackles, interception, thrown out of area, or an incomplete pass.
Basketball dodgeball (outdoors, large group)
Divide the group into four teams. Each team lines up in the corner of a basketball pitch and lines up tallest to smallest. Each member of the team numbers themselves with 1 being the tallest down to the smallest. All players must sit as a number is called out by the ref. That member of the team must then grab their basketball and dribble it to the opposite end and make a basket. Once made they must return the basketball to their teammates ready for the next number and move to the centre of the court and pick up a dodgeball. They can eliminate other team members by clearly hitting them without the dodgeball bouncing. If the dodgeball is caught then the thrower goes out but can be replaced by a fellow teammate if they have made a basket. The winning team is either the only one left or have reached a predetermined score.
Banana duel (small groups)
Opponents are paired and one hand is tired to the others. Into their remaining free hand they are given a banana. The first to eat their banana wins.
Chewing gum relay (small groups)
Similar to a relay race, competitors must run to the gum zone (next to a bin), don thick gloves unwrap a stick of gum, chew it and then place it in the bin before they can run back. First team to make it through the pack wins.
Doughnut shuffle (small groups)
Another relay race game. Players must tilt their heads back and stick out their tongues. A ring doughnut is placed on their tongue and they must run round and assault course of cones etc. First team back wins.
