Detached youth work is youth work which takes place away from buildings, or other provision which has clear links with the youth service, and instead happens in areas which young people might identify as their "own ground", for instance:

• street corners
• bus shelters
• parks
• cafes
• streets
• other places where our young people choose to congregate

As part of a planned programme of activities YouthPoint will make use of the Five Children's Centre or Garston Urban village Hall.

Detached work differs from other forms of mainstream youth work in only three ways:

• Setting: the work takes place in settings which young people consider to be their own ground.
• Resources: detached workers cannot draw on the same range of resources as others, and can often be the main or sole resource themselves.
• Establishing and Developing Relationships: because the work takes place on young people's own territory, relationships develop more on young people's terms.

There are many positive reasons and benefits for including detached youth work as part of the Youth Service's provision, these include:

• It enables youth workers to engage with young people who are not in contact with other aspects of the Youth Service.
• It enables youth workers to work without the restrictions and distractions that other forms of work can have.

Our workers need to be aware of the unpredictable environment in which they work and the distractions this can cause, for example, working outside a pub where a fight may break out.

Detached youth work is not the same as Outreach Work. Outreach work is linked with building or project based provision, and seeks to inform young people and encourage them to use it. Detached workers do of course have a role to play in informing young people of various opportunities available to them and this includes giving information about building based youth work and projects.