Bridges Project continues vital work during lockdown

Regular face-to-face sessions and group activities at the Bridges Project on Bogpark Road have been replaced with phone calls, text messages, video calls and digital work as the lockdown becomes challenging for some.

Despite the difficult times as a result of the pandemic, staff have discovered “positive elements” of ‘remote’ working with young people in East Lothian and Midlothian. They have now been working from home for more than a month and have continued to support vulnerable and disadvantaged young people with various issues which has brought about some “unexpected outcomes.”

Lynne Anderson, transitions development worker, has noticed that she is able to use her time more wisely by phoning her clients instead of driving up to an hour each way to visit them at their homes.

She said: “We can use this situation to learn how things work differently. There are opportunities to continue doing some of the activities we are doing remotely when we return to normal.”

She is one of several staff members who have had to change the way they give support over the past weeks but it still focuses on many of the same issues. They provide help with filling out job and college applications, and provide young people with emotional support and tutoring. The response has also generally been very positive, with staff members reporting engagement levels of up to 75 per cent from their clients.

Natasha McInninie, transitions service co-ordinator, said: “I am surprised by how resilient young people are. I thought we would lose a lot of young people through this situation. However, it has actually made them engage more.”

Emma Scarcliffe, acting chief executive, is also very pleased by how both Bridges Project staff and the young people they work with have responded to the current crisis.

She said: “Bridges Project has adapted quickly to the unexpected situation around Covid-19. Engagement continues to be extremely high and the commitment and dedication from staff to change their working practices so quickly to suit each individual young person has been a complete triumph. We’re all very proud of the way young people have adapted and how resilient they are.”

However, there are also issues which have become “magnified” during the lockdown, for example, people who have difficult relationships with their family members struggle with being “locked up” together over such a long period. Others are affected by less income and need help with accessing food parcels, Universal Credit and other types of financial support.

Many young people also need help to deal with the impact the Covid-19 crisis is having on their mental health. This is particularly the case for those who were already struggling with social anxiety or social isolation prior to the lockdown.

Lynne said: “In the beginning, the young people thought it was fantastic. Now the reality of the lockdown is settling in and it is starting to become challenging.”

This trend has also been observed by personal development worker, Chris Nicol, who said: “The young people were dealing with it well during the first few weeks but have seen a downturn in their mood over the last two weeks. This is due to a combination of boredom and too much time to think but also not seeing their friends. They have realised how important those social anchors really are.”

He highlighted the importance of keeping young people’s motivation and confidence up during these challenging times.

He explained: “I remind them that they need to focus on the fact that this will last for a relatively short period of their lives and things will go back to normal.”

Thank you for reading this story. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make.

In order for us to continue to provide trusted local news, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper if you have not already.

Trusted news has never been so important - and neither has your support.

The Courier is not immune to the severe pressures brought on businesses up and down the land by the Covid-19 lockdown.

So if you are able to buy a copy for yourself - and maybe even for a neighbour too who is not able to get to the shops - then we would be very grateful.

And if you do wish to support us, please check with your local newsagent to see if they can deliver the Courier to you.

There is also an E-Edition that can be read on your PC, phone or tablet - just click the ‘E-Edition’ tab under the Courier masthead on the homepage of this website for more details.

We want to be able to continue telling you all about our community heroes: our NHS staff, council staff, teachers, carers, shop owners and shop workers, posties and bus and train drivers and the army of volunteers in every town and village helping the vulnerable.

But we need your support to do so. If you can, please buy a paper. And keep safe and keep well.

Thank you.

Robbie Scott, Editor