Your voice matters and we want your help to continue developing our service in ways that make your experience of support better. You can make real change by getting involved and we have tried to create different spaces for you to share your views, ideas and thoughts on the support you get or might want in the future.
Voice and influence team
Calderdale have a voice and influence service whose role it is to support young people to share their thoughts, wishes, feelings and ideas about the support they get. A big part of their work is with children in care and care leavers.
Upwards and onwards (UNO) group
This is a care leaver led group, supported and facilitated by the voice and influence team. The group meets fortnightly on a Tuesday from 4pm-6pm at the Orange Box to discuss all sorts of issues, challenges and ideas related to being a care experienced young person or adult. If you want your voice heard or if you want to have an impact on the quality of services and support for care leavers, come along and have your say.
Young person's Service development group
We set up a group that was about working with a small number of young people who have an interest in helping us to complete specific projects. The first project this group has worked with is this local offer. We looked at each section, reviewed it and then attempted to get additional support in the areas identified. We also looked at and agreed the parts of the offer that were working well already. This group has developed strong links with the corporate parenting board and regularly has their ideas, thoughts and request shared at board meetings. This group differs from others because it is run and led by pathways managers, who bring projects to the group. We work on one project until it is complete and this can sometimes take months. If you would like to join, please speak to your PA or ring the duty number.
Calderdale children's rights and Advocacy service
This service is for children and young people who are Looked After by Calderdale Council and also Care Leavers up to 25 years old. The service can help you make sure you know what your rights are, tell you about services you may find useful and help you sort out disagreements. They can help make sure your voice is heard and that you are being treated fairly and can support you in meetings if you want advocacy.
For details, see: Children's Rights and Advocacy Service.
Space for care leavers
Pathways are based at the Orange Box, a large building we share with lots of other services that are for young people. Many of the other services that might offer you support are based with us. This means that you can come to the Orange Box and see lots of people that can support you all in the same place. The Orange Box is a friendly building with a café, climbing wall, pool tables, music rehearsal rooms, a recording studio and a skate park.
Visit: Orange Box young people's centre - Halifax.
Social media
We have created a Facebook page and hope to create a twitter page soon. We use social media so that we can keep in touch with you as you get older or if you lose touch with us. We also provide regular updates for events and activities. It also means that you can get in touch with us easily if your need support or want to reconnect with our team.
If you want to check our page out on Facebook, search for 'Calderdale Pathways PAs' and our page will come up.
Identity documents
Your Pathways Advisor can support you apply for identity documents like a passport, driving licence or national insurance number. You should already have these before you start working with our team. If you haven't or have lost something, we can pay for this and support you with the applications and processes.