Life Cycle

Continuing our coverage of National Youth Work week 2021, we spoke to Mike Holbrook of Birkenhead Detached Youth Work Team and LifeCycle to talk about his experience and the importance of youth workers on young people’s lives.

ZILLO: Hi Mike can you tell us how you got started in youth work?

I began volunteering for a local Boys Brigade and found it fun and rewarding spending time with young people. I then discovered there was a career in it and soon began working in the Viking Youth Club in Rock Ferry in 1995! (The year of Mike’s beloved Everton’s last trophy win.)

ZILLO: What do you do now?

I am the Manger and Team Leader of the Birkenhead Detached Youth Work Team, working on the streets, Parks and open spaces where young people meet. We have a Kontactabus as a fantastic resource to use as a room on wheels to help engage with groups where they are. I also run the LifeCycle Programme using bikes to engage with young people who need extra support, in groups and 1-2-1. We also visit schools and deliver Carousel workshops that provide interactive information and guidance around risk taking behaviour, staying safe and making informed decisions when out and about.

ZILLO: What impact do you think youth workers have in helping young people?

That can be difficult to know unless we can measure. All the young people we engage with have their own journey to travel. Sometimes a conversation may help in the short term, in the long term we may get young adults approaching us telling us how our interventions helped them make positive choices and contributed to where they are now. In terms of Detached Work each and every interaction can have a impact, which helps develop and enable positive interventions in the future.  

ZILLO: How has youth work changed since you got started?

Information overload with digital world and associated interpersonal relationships established within a global context!

ZILLO: What role do youth workers have in helping young people?

Youth Workers can be the unconditional adult, who can listen and respond to their issues, provide guidance and support into decisions to engage with the right services that they feel they may need. The biggest thing I feel Youth Workers do is listen you as a person without judgement, and most times without any hidden agenda.

ZILLO: Do you have any advice for a young person who might struggling with something?

Talk to someone, parents, friends and find a Youth Worker, we may not have all the answers but we can help you find the right one for you.

ZILLO: How can young people find out more about what you are doing?

Keep an eye out for us walking, cycling or on the Kontactabus around the areas you live. You can check out our Instagram at @youthmattersinwirral

Or call Mike Holbrook on 07733012459.

For more information on the Detached Youth Work Team check out Local Services