Help me to feel safe
- As well as understanding risk, it’s also important to ask me what will help me to feel safe.
- Reassure me – don’t make me feel dangerous. Ask me what I think would help to make me feel safe.
- You could say: “I want to talk to you so we can work out together what will help you feel safe and supported while you’re here”.
- Check if I would be able to tell you if I started to feel unsafe or wanted to leave.
- All young people show this in different ways (For example, I may become more withdrawn, which is hard to notice).
- Talk with me about how I could tell you, or how you would notice. You could say “What would I see or notice if you felt more unsafe?”
- Talk to the young person and agree with them how they can let you know if they are starting to feel more distressed.
- Ask my advice on how we can manage the situation together. You could say: “What helps if you start to feel more distressed?”
- If I need someone to stay with me – make sure they make me feel cared for (if they’re someone I don’t know you could give them some of your top tips).
- If people sit and stare at me or don’t interact with me it make me feel like I’m being ‘guarded or am ‘dangerous’.
Est. 2017
