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Preventing Suicide and Deliberate Self Harm
Laying the Foundations: Identifying Practice Examples
Project Report
18. Penumbra Youth Project, Galashiels
Target Group
The project provides a variety of services to young people with mental health problems.
Issues
Common issues that people face are abuse and breakdown in family relationships.
Many of the young people are very socially excluded because of the practicalities of where they live. Suicide and self-harm are both issues faced by the project.
Services/approach
The core services provided by the project are one-to-one support and a drop-in service. The project operates the drop-in facilities in local towns as and when the demand is there. The project does not operate a 24 hour crisis response service.
Difficulties are faced in running drop-in and one-to-one support services in such a rural area. The project links in with Volunteer Driver Schemes as there is a huge problem with public transport. For example, if there is an eating disorders group on at the Eyemouth project, a young person may have to travel over 40 miles to get there. This situation is all the more difficult for someone if they have poor mental health.
With the one-to-one support the project staff can help people talk through and explore what has happened to make them self-harm. They can then help the person look at different ways of coping with the situation they are in. The philosophy at the project is that if a person needs to self-harm, then that is their choice. The project does not encourage it or condone it, but recognises it, and recognises that it is a coping mechanism. If a person self-harms, staff would check to see if they need treatment - would take them to see the practice nurse at the local health centre. The project sees suicide and self-harm as separate and different, and works with them in different ways.
The project has a library of literature on subjects such as self-harm that people who use the project can borrow. They can also lend the books to the families of people who self-harm so that they can gain an understanding about what's going on. If the supporters of a young person are OK about it, then the young person doesn't have to be secretive, which can cause difficulties.
If someone has been referred to the project from hospital, it has usually been a suicide attempt. The project works with people to try and help them not feel the need to attempt suicide again. The work is on the young person's terms - they don't proscribe. The project will give the person one-to-one support, and they can also come along to the drop-in sessions where they will get peer support from people in similar situations. If someone is very suicidal, the project will also refer them on to other appropriate services. The project will work with people around assertiveness, self-esteem, anger management, and how to cope with new or difficult situations. Dealing with these issues can help people to avoid the need to either self-harm or attempt suicide.
The project will work with the person, not the 'illness', and will look at everything that is going on for them, not just the suicide attempt. Sometimes the best way of working is to not focus on the suicide attempt at all. Working this way gives the young person space to talk about themselves and the issues in their life which precipitated the suicide attempt. It can sometimes take a long time for the young person to feel able to talk, and for trust to develop.
The project will also help the person with practicalities such as housing. Basic issues such as getting a roof over your head can do a lot in terms of feelings of self-worth and self-esteem. The project also includes the Borders Supported Living Service which provides the support component of a supported accommodation scheme for young people living in the Borders.
The project also undertakes specific work on reducing alcohol and chemical intake - there is a specialist drug and alcohol worker who works on harm reduction. However, the project doesn't work with contracts around this. Instead, they will help the person manage their lifestyle if, for whatever reason, they don't want to reduce intake.
The young people also have access to complementary therapies such as Reiki and Indian head massage. This can be very relaxing for someone who has recently been through a suicide attempt, and the person can actually feel that they are doing good to themselves which is important.
The project is also in partnership with Apex and the Scottish Borders Council in managing the New Futures Intouch Project which provides support and guidance on employment, education and training to young people in the Borders area. Penumbra try and help people develop as many skills as possible through the Intouch project. However, it is very difficult to motivate people who are despairing of life already. It is not possible to tell the person that becoming trained will lead them to the hope of a good job with good money because the current employment situation means that it is probably not true.
There are many financial cuts across Community Education and Social Work funded projects in the Borders just now, and the future of the project is uncertain.
Key features
Self harm regarded as a choice people make
Work with the whole person not just the self-harming behaviour
Allow time and space for person to talk about deeper issues when ready
For further information, contact:
Pauline Bell, Manager
Penumbra Youth Project
38 Gala Park
Galashiels, TD1 1EU
Tel 01896 751 177
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