Earlier this month Paul from Restorative Gloucestershire visited the Drop-In. We had invited him to meet with the young people so he could ask them how they feel about Gloucester Police force. This was something that the youth team were a bit skeptical about doing because the expectation was that the young people wouldn’t be happy to express their opinion or be prepared to be involved in an exercise where the police and young people needed to come together to share their experiences of each other.

However, as Paul went about speaking to a number of young people they were blown away by the level of response; young people were keen to express their opinions and did so with real maturity. In one incident Lucy shared how we accompanied her to meet the police when she was being harassed by a former boyfriend. Another shared how after coming to the Drop-In for a number of years she has always found this place to be a safe space to come and be listened to.

In a couple weeks time 10 young people along with 10 police officers will meet at The Door for an activity hosted by Restorative Gloucestershire to help both parties share and listen to each other’s stories, this is going to be a powerful and humbling experience to be a part of.

When asked about the session youthwork manager James said: “I have learnt that young people will break the expectations that we sometimes place upon them, and when this happens it is humbling for those of us that journey with young people and librating for them as they grow in character”

For more information about Restorative Gloucestershire visit: www.restorativegloucestershire.co.uk