'Everybody's learning from everybody'

We sat down with member group Routes (Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol & Drugs) to talk about the skills and connections their team has built through training opportunities with Youth Scotland.

A young person stands top of a peak with their back to the camera. They raise their hands in the air.

Based in East and West Dunbartonshire, Routes (a project through Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol & Drugs) offers emotional and practical support to young people aged 12-26 who are affected by familial alcohol and drug use.

We had a chance to sit down with Pam Burns, the Senior Family Support Development Officer, to talk about the work that Routes is doing, from making sure their young people get personalised birthday gifts to creating opportunities for youth leadership and peer support and helping each young person find positive destinations. As they tackle this power of work, she shared how her team has been making the most of development opportunities with Youth Scotland.

A lot of what we do with Youth Scotland is we access all the amazing training. For me, every time a new staff member starts, I’m like ‘Go on Youth Scotland and see what training is available’...

‘…my whole staff team, we’ve all done the youth work qualification [Ready for Youth Work] so’s we can all do the [Dynamic Youth Awards]. And we’ve all done the trauma training, we’ve all done Child Protection, we’ve all done face-painting / Halloween special effects…We’ve done lots of stuff with Youth Scotland over the years.’

She explained, ‘A lot of my staff have come straight from university and although they’ve maybe done placements at schools or youth groups, it’s very different from running your own groups.’

Training opportunities like Ready for Youth Work have helped her team build their confidence, make new connections and get inspired.

‘[Routes youth worker] implemented a lot of change to our groups after doing Ready for Youth Work and took a lot of ideas, not only from youth work staff but, I think the good thing is when you go on a training course, everybody is working with young people so everybody’s sharing…So you’re not only learning from Youth Scotland staff, you’re learning from everybody else that’s on the training with you and I think that’s why the training works well…everybody’s learning from everybody.’

You’re not only learning from Youth Scotland staff, you’re learning from everybody else that’s on the training with you.

After connecting with other youth workers through Youth Scotland’s training, one staff member was inspired to rethink how Routes structured their youth groups, breaking them into smaller sections based on age.

‘[The youth worker] came back with lots of new ideas about making sure that everybody felt included and, you know, that they were all kind of able to participate. And it’s more about if somebody’s a bit quiet that they feel able to join in and things…so we changed up the groups a bit.’

Pam also shared how impactful the training pathway has been for another youth worker, who has gone on to a Professional Development Award (PDA) in youth work.

‘She’s been loving it because she feels more able to have fun at groups and be more relaxed and just getting her feeling confident in herself.’

Reflecting on the difference these opportunities have made for her team, Pam smiled and said, ‘We’ll definitely be renewing our membership!’

To learn more about Routes and Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol & Drugs, visit their website