Space 4 U
Accepting referrals from professionals who are working with a young person affected by substance misuse
Resources for young people, parents and carersOn this page
Our approach | Make a referral | Meet the team | Frequently asked questions
We are a small, friendly and professional team who will always listen and respect each child's needs.
Space 4 U meets each specific child's needs, enabling them by treating them as an individual, who is able to achieve. Expand the boxes to find out more about our approach.
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- To feel that their health and well being has improved
- To have increased self esteem and self worth
- To have increased confidence in themselves and their abilities related to their situation
- To have reduced feelings of anxiety and guilt
- To have increased readiness to learn, engage with school, or attend training and employment where this has been an issue
- To feel more able to cope with their situation
- To feel more able to participate in hobbies or pass-times
- To feel more confident with life skills, such as first aid in the home, dealing with emergencies ad how to prepare simple food and drink
- To know how and where to ask for help, again if they need it
- We engage with each child at an appropriate level to them.
- We listen to what the child wants to tell us.
- We empathise and work with the child to build resilience.
- We empower the child to make informed choices about their own lives.
- We educate each child to keep themselves and others safe.
- We strive to offer pro social activities to encourage peer to peer engagement.
- We identify other support networks that can help too, and signpost where necessary
- We speak out for children and give them a voice when they may not have always been heard.
Space 4 U welcomes referrals from anyone, for children aged 5 to 18 from all parts of Derbyshire who are affected by someone else's substance misuse.
Any professional who wants to make a referral should discuss it with the young person and their family first.
Download the referral form and return it to us by email or post.
When a referral is received it will be acknowledged by one of the team and then logged on our database.
If there is a waiting list then updates can be given if the referrer makes contact with the office on 01246 277 422.
If possible we like the referrer to be involved in an initial visit with the child and/or family to complete some basic paperwork, explain the service in more detail and answer any questions that anyone may have about the process and service in general.
Hi I’m Emma and I’m the Service Coordinator for Space 4 U. I’ve been part of Space 4 U since we started and am very passionate about our service and the support we offer!
When I’m not working I love spending time with my children, family, and our loopy Sprocker Spaniel! I also love to cook, be by the sea and am always happier when the sun is shining!
Hi I’m Jo.I love working with and helping young people and families. I am very crafty so I love to bring craft activities into my sessions-I’ve always got my paint pens on me and something we can use them on! Watch out you might get glittered too! I am also the Kinship Group Lead. I really enjoy arranging different sessions for our Kinship carers so they can have a bit of relaxation and enjoyable time out from their day to day lives.
I’m Fay and I head up the family offer within our service. My passion for working with whole families grew though my time working supporting young people, adults and families impacted by substance use. In my spare time I love everything about the natural world and being outside and I relax by cooking and listening to music.
Hi, I’m Karen. I love to see confidence and belief build in young people during my support. My passion is helping young people to believe in their future. I love to watch ice hockey and being an active off-ice member of my son’s previous team Sutton Sting. I love walks with my husband and dog Bella, while also enjoying music, cinema and eating out while also enjoying my lovely garden.
I’m Olivia and I am a Family Support Practitioner. I love this job because I get to work with great young people and children and no days are ever the same, so I am learning new things constantly. When I am not in work, I enjoy socialising with friends and family and going on walks in the peak district, especially when its sunny!
Hi, I’m Christine. Before joining Action for Children I worked in a number of pastoral support and safeguarding roles in schools.
I enjoy spending time with young people, enjoy having a laugh and coming alongside others. In my spare time I also enjoy travelling, anything messy, playing games and spending time with my mad dog.
Hi, I’m Sammie and I am a Family Support Practitioner. Having studied special educational needs and disability for my undergraduate degree and having personal experience with the impact of another person’s substance use, I became very aware of how our environment can have a major impact on our lives. I have a special interest in art therapy as well as nature-based and animal assisted therapy. I aim to give young people and their families a space to feel secure and to talk so that they can use their strengths to guide them through any difficult times.
Telephone 'Call Derbyshire' on 01629 533190 who will transfer your call to you local area office or your involved worker.
Derbyshire County Council also have an emergency out-of-hours service which can be contacted on 01629 532600.
They provide an emergency out-of-hours countywide social care support between 5pm and 9am Monday to Friday and 24 hours per day during weekends and bank holidays.
This service is available for the public and agencies to access a range of social care staff for adults or children in need of social care. If you use these numbers in an emergency, there is also the option to speak to an out-of-hours worker.
The support is confidential between the child / young person and worker.
At the beginning of support this is explained in detail and discussed to ensure everyone is clear.
If there are safeguarding concerns then we would need to speak to other agencies and this will always be explained to the child / young person.
Sometimes the child / young person wants us to share how they are feeling with the substance user so this can be done as part of the sessions.
The support is confidential between the child / young person and worker.
At the beginning of support this is explained in detail and discussed to ensure everyone is clear.
If there are safeguarding concerns then we would need to speak to other agencies and this will always be explained to the child / young person.
Sometimes the child / young person wants us to share how they are feeling with the substance user so this can be done as part of the sessions.
The service works with children and young people from 5 – 18 years old.
All parts of Derbyshire are covered.
Derby city is not included by this service, and support can be found here for that area.
No.
It can be anyone who they are related to or friends with.
Space 4 U often work with children and young people who don’t live with the user.
If a child is affected by anyone's substance use, past or present, then we can support.
It may be possible to still offer support without parental consent, depending on the young persons age.
The support is confidential between the child / young person and the worker.
At the beginning of support this is explained in detail and discussed to ensure everyone is clear.
The young person can have up to 12 sessions, normally held fortnightly.
This can be changed to meet the young persons needs and all 12 sessions don’t have to be had.
This depends on the current waiting list.
We will let you know when the referral is made how long we expect it will be before allocation and try to offer support as soon as we can.
You can always call us for an update.
No. There is no charge to the child or their family.
We always endeavour to provide the best possible service to children, young people and their families, however if you are unhappy about the service that you have received please do get in touch and let us know. We will use our complaints procedure to resolve the issue in a confidential, fair and efficient way.
In the first instance we recommend that you speak to your allocated worker either in person or by phone as they are usually best placed to help resolve the issue quickly; you can also request to speak to our Service Coordinator.
For full details of our complaints procedure see our Tell Us Leaflet.
"Here there are people who will listen and help to support me when I need it most"
David, a Space 4 U Service User.
