This report was published by YouthREX.

HERE’S HOW THE AUTHORS DESCRIBE THIS REPORT:

Frontline youth workers and the work they do are critical to the youth sector and the wellbeing of youth in our communities. Their work engages the intersection point between youth and ‘the system’ – they bear witness to the development, changes and challenges that the young people they support face; they can be the first person these youth connect with in times of need. How might we create the conditions for frontline youth work to be a healthy path for those who choose it? How might be move to a collective, sector-wide approach to ensuring youth worker wellbeing?

In October 2016, YouthREX hosted a Design Day that brought together youth sector stakeholders – youth, youth workers, policy makers, researchers, funders and citizens – to collaboratively tackle four ‘thorny’ challenges, or Idea Labs, that youth and youth workers experience, including this topic: Beyond the Individual: Collective/Community Approaches to Youth Worker Wellbeing. This report is a snapshot of this Design Day, provides a review of the context around this Idea Lab topic, and shares the two prototype pitches that participants co-developed in response to the challenge. The report includes reflections on the collaborative process along with resources and case study examples that can inspire our youth work.