STRENGTHS-BASED RESOURCES
Our current and most recent project has been the co-creation of strengths-based resources for the youth homeless sector. Below you can find a summary of our progress so far, with more information on our toolkit page.
Our Mental Skills Training Toolkit (#MSTtoolkit) has been designed with and for those working in the youth homeless sector. Building from the content included in the MST4Life programme, the toolkit includes activities which are designed to support young people recognise and develop their mental skills, such as: goal-setting, coping strategies, resilience and support seeking.
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When producing the toolkit, we pitched an initial prototype of the MST toolkit to a wider audience of 60+ people from the homeless sector, including front-line staff and policymakers. We also sought the opinions of young people experiencing homelessness.
Feedback from staff and young people underscored the importance of producing a toolkit that included tips and techniques to encourage conversation and ensure the resources were completed collaboratively
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Furthermore, attendees of the toolkit launch event also highlighted the importance of providing staff with guidance on how to use the tools; for example, being emotionally safe and psychologically informed.
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This let to the development of a second resource: a guide to delivering the toolkit in a psychologically informed way. Here staff can find strategies to foster feels of autonomy, competence and relatedness, as well as, techniques and tools from solution-focused brief therapy.
And, of course, it wouldn't be a trilogy with our a third and final resource!
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We're currently working on a resource to assist commissioners who may be wishing to implement a training programme in their service. This will include strategies for planning and evaluating a programme, building from our own first-hand experience and evidence-based frameworks.
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