The Compass Project
Compass supports young people in Edinburgh who:
• are experiencing (or have experienced) homelessness;
• have a care background; and/or
• have an offending background.
Every young person accesses a tailored support package that meets their individual needs and gives them the skills and confidence to move on and do well in their lives.
What can Compass help with?
Compass offers practical support, advice and training in the following areas:
• money (from accessing the right benefits to money or debt management);
• housing (from looking at suitable accommodation to building longer term independent living skills);
• relationships (from ensuring the right support is in place to exploring the importance of positive social networks); and
• employability (providing opportunities to develop skills, access relevant training and make positive steps towards employment or education).
Young people can work on these areas in a number of different ways.
One to One Support
One to one support gives young people the chance to talk about what in their lives they feel they need support with and what goals the want to work towards.
Young people are given the opportunity to discuss and work through issues and concerns in order to remove barriers to achieving goals and fulfilling potential, and to look in depth at past and present social networks with a view to ensuring they can maintain positive relationships and build new relationships that can provide ongoing support.
Young people are also encouraged to reflect on their learning from engaging with other aspects of the service.
One to one support is the only aspect of the Compass project that all young people will be expected to attend, although the amount and intensity of such support will vary significantly from one participant to another, depending on individual circumstances.
During these sessions, young people will look at the other opportunities available at Compass, and beyond, that could be most beneficial for them.
Drop In's
Compass facilitates regular drop-ins in the Underground Café (at the Rock Trust’s offices on Albany Street). These are informal in nature, with young people coming along to get some free food, play pool, play the Wii or access the internet, but these also provide the valuable opportunity to relax, access staff support and engage with peers within a safe environment. Young people also have the chance to learn more about the Compass project and the different support available.
Young people are welcome to attend drop-ins before being formally referred (or self-referring) to the service. For details of our current drop-in times, click on the link below to see our latest timetable.
Group Work
Group work is offered to give young people the chance to work alongside others in sharing knowledge and developing skills in a number of areas, including personal and social skills, whilst also engaging with fun activities and workshops. Content of group work sessions will vary and depend largely on ideas and feedback from Compass participants themselves.
Community Volunteering
Our community volunteering programmes create opportunities for young people to volunteer in and around Edinburgh and gain ‘work ready’ skills for moving onto further education, training or employment. Each week, a group of young people take part in one or two volunteer challenge tasks, each lasting about half a day.
The type of opportunities vary, giving participants a wide experience of what is out there, and each group has a say in what sort of things they want to do. Opportunities may include:
• conservation work;
• clean up work along the Water of Leith;
• ‘guerilla gardening’; or
• decorating a community hall.
Running alongside volunteering tasks are a number of training days which help to develop skills needed to gain or sustain a job, a training course or a place at college. Each participant is able to work towards some form of accreditation, such as the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award or MV Awards.
There are also a limited number of opportunities for young people to access individual volunteering placements through our partnership with the Voluntary Action Fund.
Mediation
Young people experiencing conflict or difficulties in relationships can access our mediation service. Positive relationships with, for example, family members, carers, friends and flat mates play a large part in young people having strong social networks, feeling confident and going on to achieve positive outcomes in their lives. Mediation can help them be heard, work through relationship issues and consider solutions that feel right for them and the other person (or people) involved. It also offers them a positive way of dealing with conflict in the future. The sessions, facilitated by a trained mediator, are voluntary and confidential.
Mentoring
Young people accessing the Compass project have the option of being assigned a mentor. Matching young people to the right mentor can be valuable in providing a ‘practice’ relationship for working through insecurities, developing social skills and building confidence and self-esteem. All mentors are fully trained and give their time on a voluntary basis.
Further Information & How can I get involved?
You can find out more about the Compass project by contacting us on tel: 0131 557 4059, or e-mail: compass@rocktrust.org. Alternatively you can use our online contacts page (hyperlink) (please leave full contact details along with a note of the service that you are interested in).
You can complete the online referral form and send/fax it back to us:
Young people are also welcome to come down to our drop-ins at 55 Albany Street. For times for drop ins (and our current group work and community volunteering programmes) click on the link below.
Funded by the National Lottery through the Big Lottery Fund