EXTRA support is now on offer for young people following a dale youth charity’s latest appointment.
Teesdale YMCA welcomed Kate Barrigan to the team earlier this month as the organisation’s first community development worker.
With 15 years’ experience of working with young people and having recently completed a degree in community and youth work studies at the University of Sunderland, the 38-year-old will work with young people across the dale.
Ms Barrigan, who lives near Bolam, said: “I think it is a really exciting role to be working in the community and supporting young people in the area.
“I will be there as a point of contact for the community so if people want to come along and have a chat or need any support they can come and find me. If I can’t help them I will find someone who can.”
Ms Barrigan will be predominantly based at the YMCA community cafe, in Cockfield. Young people can drop by to meet her and have a chat about any problems they are facing.
This could be anything from mental health issues to problems relating to Universal Credit.
Ms Barrigan will also be on hand to offer support at the organisation’s youth club which is held every weekday night in Barnard Castle and every Wednesday night in Cockfield.
She will also be leading on detached work in Evenwood.
Teesdale YMCA’s operations director, Rachel Dyne, said: “The community development role has been something we have been thinking about for a couple of months. We knew we needed someone like Kate to lead on the detached work in Evenwood with all of the issues there.
“It is something we are really excited about. Fresh blood is always a good thing in an organisation as it brings new ideas and helps us to develop as an organisation to make sure we are serving the needs of the community.”
