Work placement

	L to R: Richard Thorgood (Project Worker), Leigh Baker, Wendy Emblen (Project Worker) and back row Jason Parish (resident)

Westgate Support + Care accepted a work placement for trainee policeman Leigh Baker last month. Lee was placed in the Winchester Young Person's Project and was able to gain first hand knowledge of the difficult situations young people face.

Leigh didn't know what to expect when he first heard the news that he would be working for a Housing Association, but afterwards he said that he greatly enjoyed his time in the Project and was able to gain awareness of the issues surrounding vulnerable young people in Winchester and the problems they encounter on a day to day basis. Lee was also made aware of the difficult backgrounds some of the youngsters came from and how these experiences may affect their future prospects. He felt that this knowledge will greatly help him in situations he may face when he becomes qualified.

During his placement Leigh was introduced to a number of local agencies and managed to see at first hand how good inter partnership working can benefit the service users. Lee found the whole experience very valuable and will be recommending it to the police for future work placements.

The young people at the project said that nothing had changed in the house even though they knew there was a future policeman present - it helped them to realise that policemen were normal too!

Westgate Support + Care hopes this placement has helped break down the barriers between young people and the police. Westgate Support + Care plans to take on more work placements from the police in the future.

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