Characteristics of a Youth Worker

According to Youth Work Preparation for Practice there are seven main characteristics of a youth worker and they are

• Youth work is an educational practice
• Youth work is a social work practice
• Youth workers try to change inequality and work towards social justice
• When possible young people try to be involved
• Youth work is strengthening the voice and influence of young people
• Youth work is also a welfare practice 
• Youth work works with young people holistically

I felt it was interesting that the first two are characteristics we emphasize at RIC. In the youth development major we take educational classes like FNED and SPED 300, and also take a variety of social work classes. This gives us diverse knowledge on the different hats we wear when working with you. The next three I felt all went hand in hand when it came to social justice, advocacy and giving youth a voice. We as youth workers not only have to advocate for our youth but show the them the tools to advocate for themselves and ultimately let them use their own voices. I feel it is so important to realize we are not just people who go to our jobs and advocate for something but instead are teacher others how to do that for themselves by giving them resources to practice and teaching them step by step how they can make positive change in their community. Lastly I felt that the last characteristic resonated with me because holistic and therapeutic development is my concentration. It's not always about what we do but how we do it.