Partnership working - exciting times!

I am now into week 8 of my role as Police Community Youth Pastor (PCYP) at East to West (www.easttowest.org.uk) in Egham, Surrey and I am becoming more and more impressed by the amount of partnership working around Runnymede - the North Western Borough of Surrey.

This week I have been to Runnymede Borough Council's 'Single Group for Young Peoples Services' meeting and the Community Incident Action Group (CIAG) meeting. It is really inspiring to see how so many different agencies (including YDS, YJS, the Police, Social Services, County Council, Borough Council and others) are working together and pooling their resources to improve the community.

On Wednesday afternoon I had coffee with a guy who works with a Christian youth work charity in a neighbouring borough, which has a very similar purpose to East to West. It was really exciting to hear about what they're doing, but even more exciting to see how the conversation developed and the excitement about working together to improve and multiply our work. In the evening I helped lead a meeting with local young people to find out how they feel about their local area and to discuss what facilities they'd like to see in their area. I was very pleasantly surprised by the number of young people that attended, and especially by the positive way they engaged with the agencies in attendance (YJS, YDS, Police, myself and other community members).

I feel like I have arrived at a really exciting time for youth work in the area. There seem to be lots of great ideas bubbling up in different areas, but they are all starting to combine. I just hope they come to fruition.

Keep reading this blog for further updates, and don't forget to check out my Twitter page (www.twitter.com/eghampcyp).

Also, East to West are now recruiting for a PCYP in Windsor! Contact me for more details or for an application form.

Introductions.

My name is Paul Langtree and I work for a Christian youth work charity called east to west in Egham (Surrey, England). My official title is ‘Police Community Youth Pastor’ (or ‘PCYP’ for short). I started on the 1^st of October 2010. This is an unusual role, working in partnership with Egham Police to provide support to young people in Egham and Egham Hythe, who are coming to the attention of the Police. My base is Egham Police Station.

I’m 29 years old, married and have an baby boy. I have spent most of my working life doing youth work in Surrey including church youth work, schools work, working as a Connexions PA and working for the YMCA in Woking.

east to west is a charity of Compassion, Mercy and Justice reaching out to vulnerable and 'at risk' young people. east to west sees itself as a community of both paid and voluntary Christians who outwork our mission, passion, ethos, commitment, method and inclusivity in partnership with the Local Church.  You can find out more about east to west and the role of the PCYP at www.easttowest.org.uk, including a short video about my work which was made by my predecessor.

The PCYP post is all about responding to the needs and issues that surround youth crime and anti-social behaviour. Its creation was in response to local need and the recognition that crime and anti-social behaviour are often the outworking of a young person’s response to their life journey so far and of expressing their vulnerability and frustrations in their lives.  In other words involvement in such activities is a direct reflection of a young person’s sense of community and belonging. Therefore the Youth Pastor is in post not simply to seek to curb behaviour but to address the issues and frustrations behind the behaviour and to enable a young person to unpack the reasons why they behave in such a way and to bring Hope and a way forward in their lives. The PCYP works in partnership with and receives referrals from the police and local authority who will highlight the young people who need the additional support due to their behaviour in their community.

Ideally I would update this blog weekly, but in reality it might not be that often. I hope this blog will appeal to residents of Egham, people I work with and to people interested in youth work and/or Police work and how the two can overlap.