Youth Court Solutions
Watch the video above on YCS
The YCS team are in the Wellingborough Magistrate’s court waiting area every youth court day from 10am.
The team includes workers from the local charity, Service Six, NGAGE with Aquarius and YOS (Northamptonshire Youth Offending Service).
The team offer a range of free services to defendants, witnesses, victims, family and friends.
The services include:
Information Service
Support Service
Tackling Trauma
Brief Solution Focused Therapy
Community Referral Service
Substance Use / Drug and Alcohol Service
Education, Training and Employment Service
Accommodation and Benefits Service
Other Helpful Contacts and Services
See below for more information on each service we provide.
Information Service
The YCS team are here for you if you need any info about:
The court
What will happen at court
What help is available for young people, family and friends on the day
What help is available in the community after court
So if you have any questions or are not sure about anything please ask a member of the YCS team.
Support Service
The YCS team are here for you if you need emotional support at court.
It is normal to feel nervous and anxious.
Being at court can be very difficult.
If you feel nervous, stressed or scared it may help to talk to a member of the YCS team.
Sometimes feeling upset can make you feel ill, sick or give you a headache.
Sharing how you are feeling may help you – the YCS team are available to listen.
The team can suggest quick ways to help you to be calmer and cope better with your feelings.
Please remember that different things work for different people.
Here are a few self-help tools that may help you.
Try a few and see what works for you.
Grounding
Five Senses
Look around the room and think about
5 things you can see
4 things you can touch
3 things you can hear
2 things you can smell
and 1 thing you can taste
Breathing
Deep breathing, reduces the effects of stress. This may also help when having a panic attack. Deep breathe in, hold, and count for 3, release blowing out for a count of 10, keep repeating until you can feel your head feeling fuzzy. Counting requires the thinking brain (cortex) so you are putting your brain back online.
Distractions
Such as counting the same or similar items around you such as chairs or posters.
Count forward from 1 or back from 100
Find items you can see that all only start with the same letter of the alphabet and when you run out pick another letter and start again.
Play a game on your phone.
Self-soothing
Such as stroking or circling the top of your hands or the underneath of your hand with the opposite thumb.
Pressure Points
You find some pressure points (red dots on pictures 1 and 2) in the webbing between your thumb and index finger (see picture 1) or another point is located on the outside of your forearm when you bend the arm 90 degrees. Measure 3 finger widths the elbow crease (see picture 2).
Pressing or rubbing pressure points may reduce stress, headaches, and neck pain.
Place your thumb or 1 or 2 fingers on the pressure point. Common fingers are the index and middle fingers.
Apply firm pressure on the point and hold for 5 seconds.
While applying pressure, take slow, deep breaths.
Gently massage using a circular motion for 2 minutes.
Repeat the pressure on your other hand
Picture 1Picture 2
Stretch your arms and legs
Walk
Walk to the toilet.
Look at the display boards or information posters.
Splash warm water on your face and hands
Use lots of soap on your hands as it is a sensory aid so feeling the bubbles in your hands for a few minutes may help to ease your stress.
Repeat a positive statement in your head such as:
I am OK
I will be OK
Repeat a meditation statement /mantra in your heard such as:
I have control over how I feel, and I choose to feel at peace
With every breath, I feel myself relaxing
Connect with someone if you can…talk – get it out
If a family member or friend is with you ask them to hold your hand, put their arm around you, give you a hug, or play a mental or memory game with you such as,
I Spy (Take it in turns to find something in sight starting with a letter of the alphabet, tell the starting letter and then your family / friend has to guess what it is you have seen.
Or play, I went shopping and bought… (Take it in turns to say what you bought whilst shopping and add each item on your turn so you have to remember the whole list each turn)
Gadgets
if you use fidget gadgets, bands, bead bracelets or spinners these may help
Stress Tools
Stress Ball the YCS team may have a free stress ball they can give you which may help.
Stress balls may be a beneficial tool for easing stress because they alleviate the physical experience of intense emotions
Tackling Trauma
Our free Tackling Trauma website also has lots more info and self-help tools you can use to help.
Click here to access the website
The Tackling Trauma website has pages for different people:
Children website page
https://tackling-trauma.com/children.html
Young people website page
https://tackling-trauma.com/young-people.html
Adults website page
https://tackling-trauma.com/adult-trauma.html
Parents and Carers
https://tackling-trauma.com/parents.html
We also have a free Tackling Trauma App for Young People
Click here to access the web-based app
Brief Solution-Focused Therapy Service
Solution-focused brief therapy is a short-term talking therapy that focuses on setting goals and working out how to achieve them. In the case of YCS how to get through the day at court. The YCS team can help you to share how you are feeling, help you reduce feelings like stress and anger and work out together with you how you can better cope and set the goal of getting through the day.
Community Referral Service
If you need support and help beyond the court day, the YCS team may be able to connect you with community groups and charities in Northamptonshire that could help. Ask one of the YCS team members if this is something you think may help. NYOS and Service Six have a big network of partner agencies helping with lots of kinds of needs and issues.
Depending on what happens on the day, you may want to look at or get a referral into another service. The YCS team can help with this.
The REACH Collaboration provide professional and confidential youth support and counselling for young people aged from 11-19 years across the County of Northamptonshire.
REACH are five services:
Service Six
(predominantly Wellingborough & East Northants and some services countywide)
The Lowdown
(Northampton area)
Time2Talk
(Daventry & South Northants)
CHAT Youth Counselling
http://www.chatyouthcounselling.org.uk/for-young-people/
(East Northants Thrapston to Oundle area)
Youth Works
https://www.youthworksnorthamptonshire.org.uk/
(Kettering & Corby)
Substance Use / Drugs and Alcohol Service
The YCS team includes substance use workers that are available to help - ask one of the team if you feel this might help you.
On the day, the worker is here to listen, provide support and info about the court process.
Depending on what happens on the day, you may be referred to one of the two substance use workers for 121 and or group work education and support on substance use towards reducing or ending use. There is also the option of an acupuncture service. Acupuncture is the use of very fine pins gently inserted into pressure points in the ear area. This …
Substance use develops when you continue to take substances that change the way you feel and think, such as alcohol, drugs or food, even though they may cause problems with your body, your mind and the way you behave. The most commonly used substances are alcohol, cannabis (weed), cigarettes, opiates, stimulants and food. Young people usually start using substances through family members or friends who are using them. Young people who persistently abuse substances often experience an array of problems, including schooling and education, health-related problems (including mental health), poor friendships and relationships, and involvement with the criminal justice system.
Here's a link to the Aquarius – NGAGE – Northamptonshire’s Young People’s Service:
https://aquarius.org.uk/our-services/young-peoples-services/northampton-yp/
NGAGE with Aquarius is an early intervention drug and alcohol service for young people aged 10-18 in Northamptonshire. Their service provides information, education, advice and support to young people in relation to drug and alcohol use. NGAGE is a free and confidential service. They cover the whole county and have dedicated workers for Northampton, Kettering, Corby, Daventry, Wellingborough, South Northamptonshire and East Northamptonshire.
Education, Training and Employment Service
The YCS team includes education training and employment workers that are available to help - ask one of the team if you feel this might help you.
If you are struggling to attend school, access your education, excluded, trying to get into training or employment the YCS team may be able to help you.
On the day, the worker will listen to your problems and help you to look at your options, info and support on education, training and employment.
Depending on what happens at court, you may be referred to one of the two education workers. If you are referred you (or you and your family) will be offered a home or office visit to talk about needs and to create a plan to get you back into education (via schools), training or employment.
Here’s some links that may be useful for jobs and apprenticeships…
For jobs and apprentices info – you can search by towns:
or this link for more apprenticeship info:
or Construction skills and certificate scheme info:
Education and experiences of schooling are potentially risk or protective factors in relation to offending behaviour by young people. As such, being in education, training or employment is an important factor in reducing risks of future offending or escalation of offences.
Accommodation and Benefits Service
The YCS team includes accommodation and benefits workers that are available to help - ask one of the team if you feel this might help you.
If you are struggling with housing or benefits, the YCS team may be able to help you.
On the day, the worker will listen to your problems and help you look at your options, info and support available on housing and benefits.
Depending on what happens at court, you may be referred to one of the support workers. If you are referred you (or you and your family) will be offered a home or office visit to talk about needs and to create a plan to make sure you are getting the benefits you are entitled to and any help with housing.
Other Helpful Contacts and Services in Northamptonshire
Some Services in Northamptonshire (click to download)
Sexual Health Services (click to download)
Northamptonshire Integrated Sexual Health and HIV service (NISHH).
Offer testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), complex contraception (implants, injections and coils), emergency contraception and HIV outpatient care.
Locations:
North of the county
Ashwood Centre
St Mary's Hospital
London Road
Kettering
Northamptonshire, NN15 7PW
South of the county
Northampton General Hospital
Area R
Billing Road
Cliftonville
Northampton, NN1 5BD
Contact and booking
For a telephone triage appointment with one of our clinicians.
Telephone: 0300 027 0110
Monday 9am - 7:30pm
Tuesday 8.:30am - 3:30pm
Wednesday 1:30pm - 7:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 3:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 3:30pm
Outreach Service Hotline Telephone: 03000 270 070
The YCS is managed by The Crysalys Foundation in partnership with Northamptonshire County Youth Bench and HMCTS.
The YCS project is the first of its type in the UK and has been operating in Northamptonshire since October 2021.
In the first two years of operations, the project’s youth beneficiaries exhibited a 36% reduction in re-offending resulting in a circa £3Million saving in public funds.
From 2024+ The Crysalys Foundation started helping to set up YCS projects in other areas of the UK.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Company No: 11080543.
Registered Charity No. 1189120.
Registered Address:
298 Wellingborough Road
Northampton
NN14EP
T: 07495 539 611
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