Vulnerable young men and reoffending was the focus of this research project that took place in Hastings. This practitioner research study, by Claire Stubbs, combines her support work with young people who have experienced challenging times and her interest in resilience and the Resilience Framework.

By examining the mechanisms that were important to promote resilience among young men who were offending, the study took the resilience framework and applied it to the data collected about the young men’s experiences.

Project aims

Eight young men took part in a piece of research that explored the mechanisms that had supported them to turn their lives around after being involved in crime. The men’s stories were mapped against the Resilience Framework and mechanisms within Basics, Belonging, Learning, Core Self and Coping were significant in support of their reparative pathways.

Project findings and impact

The findings supported the principle behind the resilience framework, the importance of the social and the individual working together to promote better odds for young people.

The young men then took part in the production of a newspaper toolkit that has taken the key messages from the research in order for professionals to understand what can be done and to convey the importance of adopting a socio-ecological approach to promoting resilience. The newspaper is being disseminated across East Sussex through training that introduces theory and the application of theory and the resilience framework.