THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VIABLE YOUTH DROP-IN CENTRE

Abstract

The interaction between youths-at-risk and social services takes place most often when these youths are processed by the judicial system. Besides those at the remedial end of the 'type of service' continuum, there is little social services catering to the needs of these youths, in proportion to the intensity of attention that they need and their ever increasing numbers. In studying the development of a viable youth drop-in centre for youths-at-risk, this thesis attempts to contribute to the development of a repertoire of services for them. The first step in engaging in a study to develop a service is to establish the viability of that service among its target population. This research does this through examining the survival potential of existing centres and studying the service utilisation behaviour of the target population. A multiple case study design was used in the examination of the centres and a survey was carried out among the youths-at-risk. The data was analysed through looking at themes in the former and statistics in the latter. The findings established that a drop-in centre for youths-at-risk is a viable option worth considering. Subsequently, a model of drop-in centre for youths-at-risk is proposed using the data obtained.