Queen’s University Belfast Reports Success of ‘Connect’ Project in Supporting Young People Against Violence
The report, published by the NI Executive’s programme on Paramilitarism and Organised Crime, evaluates the Education Authority-led CONNECT project which was undertaken by Dr Colm Walsh from the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at Queen’s, and points to the potential for the approach to further reduce youth violence and demands on hard-pressed critical care services.
Youth workers based in two Emergency Departments (EDs) engage and support vulnerable young people aged 15-25, many of whom are repeat attenders, when they arrive at hospital. The youth workers engage with them at these critical moments and provide mentoring support, to help these young people access the right support in the community. This allows the medical teams to focus on other clinical issues and reduces the chance that the young people will return to the emergency department.
The report, which includes anonymous case studies and feedback, highlights the complex needs of many young people which, if left unaddressed, can make them more vulnerable to violence and criminal exploitation.
Dr Colm Walsh said of the project that “the impact of programmes such of these could be even wider than the ED. We need to stop thinking and operating in silos and recognise that if we fail to address vulnerabilities early on, it has a wider societal impact. This is socially and economically costly.”
This is reflected in the data with almost half (49%) of the young people supported had contact with the justice system in the three months prior to engaging with CONNECT. The report shows there is a correlation between the number of Emergency Department presentations and police contacts, implying that pressure on one system is mirrored by pressure on another.
Justice Minister Naomi Long said: “All children and young people in Northern Ireland have a right to safety and this project is an innovation in how we make sure this happens. The justice system should not be the first point of support for young people – preventing harm and violence is always better than dealing with it a later stage. This project shows that violence is preventable not inevitable, and that child criminal exploitation can be successfully addressed.”
Minister of Health Mike Nesbitt, said: “Northern Ireland continues to be affected by enduring paramilitary violence in the communities that these Emergency Departments serve. The CONNECT Project is the only hospital-based violence intervention project in Northern Ireland and highlights the value of co-locating youth workers with medical teams to support our most vulnerable children and young people. This not only reduces the number of hospital visits, it brings different perspectives to a very complex problem. This type of evidence-based, multi-disciplinary model is key to effective outcomes.”
CEO, Education Authority, Richard Pengelly commented: “Violence remains a significant issue among children and young people in Northern Ireland and is often connected to many other harms. This is an innovative, evidence-based project. Professionally accredited youth workers use approaches and techniques that are ideally suited to supporting young people who are often in very real distress and feel they have nowhere to turn. The results are impressive with 1,416 vulnerable young people supported in one year alone.”
Key to the project’s success is the fact that CONNECT is staffed by professionally qualified youth workers, as ‘they not only know how to engage vulnerable youth but have an intimate understanding of the community context and resources that could be tapped into as a means of supporting these young people in a more sustainable way.’