Thanks to funding from The Ryvoan Trust our Harmeny Here4U service is now up and running and has held its first meet ups with former pupils.
Harmeny Here4U will support young people as they move on from Harmeny and provides opportunities for former pupils to reconnect.
In August we welcomed Paul Henderson, pictured, to Harmeny to establish our exciting new Here4U ‘transitions and keeping in touch’ project.
Keeping in touch with young people across Scotland
Linked to our Acorn continuing care provision, Here4U has expanded the support that Harmeny offers to pupils during and after their transition from Harmeny, with a focus on former pupils aged 25 and under who are entitled to Aftercare services.
The project aims to ensure that our young people have the best possible transition when the time comes for them to move on from Harmeny, as well as creating opportunities to keep in touch with the school and important people in their lives, offering ongoing advice and support, and signposting to local services that can best meet an individual’s needs.
A listening ear for all former pupils
The project is also listening to the views and stories of former pupils, allowing us to evaluate the impact that Harmeny’s interventions have had on their lives and learn from their experiences. This will help us to further develop our suite of services and approaches.
Here4U is initially funded for three years, and although the focus of the project is former pupils who are entitled to support from Aftercare services within the funding period, we are here for all our former pupils.
In the first three months, the project has been able to connect with a number of former pupils through telephone calls and home visits, hosting events and individual visits to Harmeny, sending Christmas and birthday cards, and arranging volunteering opportunities.
We have also worked with other services to arrange college interviews, help with accessing employment support, and to ensure that our former pupils are maximising their income during the cost of living crisis.
Are you a former pupil?
We’d love to hear from you. If you would like to have a chat about the project, you can contact Paul Henderson at Harmeny on: 0131 449 3938 or at [email protected].
