Targeted Youth Work
Youth work built around what matters to you
Not every young person needs the same thing from youth work.
Rosario’s Targeted Youth Work brings young people together around shared interests, experiences or needs, creating smaller groups where they can explore the things that matter to them.
Some groups grow naturally from existing friendships. Others bring together young people of similar ages or those interested in a particular subject. Previous examples have included groups focused on areas such as climate action and mental health.
Whatever brings the group together, the young people involved help shape what happens next.
How does Targeted Youth Work work?
Our groups are based on the needs of their members rather than following one fixed programme.
At the beginning, Rosario staff work with the young people involved to understand what they want from the group and agree what they would like to achieve. Together, they can then decide what the group explores and what activities or training would be useful.
That means one group can look completely different from another.
The aim is to give young people genuine input into the programme rather than simply telling them what they should be doing. The direction, aims and objectives are established with the young people taking part.
Learn, develop and build new skills
Targeted Youth Work can also give young people opportunities to learn more about subjects that interest or affect them and develop useful skills along the way.
Where appropriate, this can include training connected to the needs and aims of the group.
The exact focus will depend on the young people involved. A programme might be built around an issue they want to understand better, an interest they want to explore or something happening in their lives or community.
Young people aren’t expected to fit themselves around a predetermined programme. We build the programme around them.
There isn’t one set length for Targeted Youth Work at Rosario.
Most groups meet once a week for at least an hour and continue until they have achieved what they set out to do. That can be adapted when the members of the group feel something different would work better.
It keeps the focus where it belongs: on what the young people involved need from the group.
How long do groups run?
Interested in getting involved?
If there’s a particular subject you’re interested in, you’d like to find out what groups are currently running or you think Targeted Youth Work could help you, speak to the Rosario team.