The Lab: Pursuing relationships

Relationships are the bread and butter of youth work. They are the key ingredient on which the rest of our youth work activities are built. Relationships are central to all our lives; through relationships we learn the social skills that help us navigate the world around us. In youth work, we turn this relationship-building into a professional skill. Young people who have positive and trusted relationships with significant adults have been shown to do better in school, have better mental health and be less involved with risk-taking behaviours.