Paul Thompson
I have been a youth worker for the past 19 years. 10 years of those have been primarily in a faith based context and more recently in a charitable trust that I set up primarily to target vulnerable young people in our community. My wife and I have also spent the past 5 years (and still are currently) setting up and running a residential home for vulnerable teenage girls - we have up to 5 teenage girls at any one time living with us in our home.
I have had experience in supervising and training youth workers through bible colleges, Weltec, and over the past 10 years a large number of volunteers. I'm passionate about training quality youth workers who will last the distance. I have seen far too many youth workers in faith based, and non faith based situations burn out with good intentions, but not having the support or supervision to hone their skills and experience to best use. Self care from experience is so crucial to us in this profession for longevity which is what our communities and young people need.
My current role at Upper Hutt Community Youth Trust is managing youth workers, and leading a non profit organisation, including funding, volunteers, and developing key relationships with stakeholders. The girls home that we run for vulnerable teenage girls keeps us on our toes and helps us to keep grounded in the realities facing young people and youth workers today. If you're interested in exploring supervision, more than happy to sit down for an obligation free coffee and chat about what you are looking for out of supervision, and what I could offer.