A youth counsellor has joined the Foundation to support all students, across the Foundation’s Education and Social Inclusion programmes and provide its staff with specialist support.
Dawn Bere brings a wealth of experience in the youth engagement sector with previous experience at Bedford Borough Council working as an Early Help Professional, Wellbeing Coach & Enhanced Evidence Based Practitioner.
The Counsellor role, funded by National Lottery Reaching Communities aims to improve the well-being and mental health of young people on Foundation programmes and establish programmes, activities and activations to engage with the young people and support their personal development and personal journey to a positive future. During her first few months at the Foundation, Dawn will be spending time meeting Foundation staff and most importantly the young people to understand their needs.
Harry James, Engage Manager at Northampton Saints Foundation heads up just one of the programmes which will benefit from Dawn’s arrival. He said “Many of the young people on the Engage programme, which takes participants away from their everyday routine to provide additional support to regain control of their academic pathway, experience mental health issues, attainment challenges, behavioural problems and traumas which can affect their education.
“Our staff are an excellent support network and work with our young people on a daily basis to help them towards a positive future however, recruiting a Youth Counsellor will allow further intervention for our young people to understand their emotions, develop coping methods, build emotional resilience for the present day and future”.
Dawn, who joins the Foundation today, said “It was always going to take something special for me to make the move away from my previous role. When I saw the chance to work with the Foundation and be a part of the incredible work they do with young people, I knew this was the move I had been waiting for.
I love how the Foundation use the power and values of sport and thread that through their programmes, and direct work with young people. I have spent several years focusing on supporting children and young people’s mental health, and with this new and exciting role as Youth Counsellor, I feel it’s the perfect chance for me to contribute my skills to this fantastic team.
After some conversations with the team, I know they are just as excited about this new role as I am. This role is an opportunity to take a holistic approach to supporting young people’s mental health and well-being and I can’t wait to get started! I love my one-to-one work with young people, so I’m looking forward to that, I’m also excited to share my knowledge and experience with the team, to support and broaden their understanding of mental health and wellbeing for young people, and the significant part we can all play if we are emotionally available adults”.
Outside side of work Dawn loves spending time with her family and traveling to new places together. She is a big football, rugby and cricket fan, and in her free time you’ll quite likely to find her either in the stands at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens or Sixfields stadium, or on the side-lines watching her boys of a weekend. She’s also a big theatre fan and treads the boards herself - once even playing a dwarf in the Snow White pantomime with an actual beard glued to her face!
