Meet the staff - Youth support coordinators

Our Youth support coordinators provide individually tailored support. They focus on young people as individuals rather than defining them as cancer patients. They supervise and coordinate activities on and off the ward and encourage patients to socialise and remain active as young people.

June Vevers (HPS)

June has worked at University College Hospital London for six years, previously on the haemotology ward and then on the merged haemo/oncology ward.

She has learnt a great deal from working with the young people and the different types of cancers that they have.

Part of her role is to prepare the teenagers and young people for difficult and painful procedures and also to provide distractions from these procedures and their treatment.

June also works to give patients their own tool box of coping skills, to gain mastery and independence throughout their treatment.

June is never ceased to be amazed just how strong the young people she works with are during their diagnosis and treatments. She has learnt so much from them which has enabled June to develop her own role within the unit.

Lorraine Case (MA Youth and Community Studies, BSc Psychology and Legal Studies)

Lorraine has previous experience of working with young people in a variety of environments including Youth Offending, Student Ambassadorship, Counselling and Mentoring and has worked on the Young Oncology Unit at The Christie for the past six years as the Play and Activity Coordinator, then the Support Coordinator.

Lorraine has developed a comprehensive support programme and services for young people on The YOU. This includes social and service user groups, a peer inclusive support programme and ward based activity for young people being treated for cancer.

Lorraine has also been an integral part of developing support services for extended family members and carers. This includes sibling days, family support groups and bereavement groups.

She has developed a national Support/Activity Coordinators Forum and is the Social Lead for the Teenage Cancer Trusts’ ‘Find Your Sense of Tumour’ conference.

Lorraine oversees the multi-disciplinary support service and therefore supervises external staff including music therapists, residential artists, complementary therapists, volunteers and students.

Nathan Norris

Nathan has been based at the Teenage Cancer Trust Unit at the Weston Park Hospital in Sheffield since May 2008. He also works at the Children’s Hospital with patients aged 13 to 16 and at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital with leukaemia patients aged 16 to 25. Previously he was a lead behavioural support worker working with teenagers with learning disabilities and autism for two years.

Nathan’s work involves organising activities which provide enjoyment while patients are receiving treatment at hospital and to encourage social interaction such as trips to the cinema, bowling, jewellery making, street magic, art therapy workshops and pizza nights.

Along with organising group activities he also spends time with patients on their own catching up, playing board games or simply providing some company. Nathan says what he has learnt most from the role is that each patient handles their treatment in a completely different way. Respecting this is very important along with making sure patients always have opportunities to talk if they need to or access the activities that are put on, if they want to.

His passion is to see teenagers and young adults supported in whatever way they need and given the chance to have some fun and enjoy themselves whatever they are going through.

John Carroll

John has a background of many years in social services, mainly with people with physical and learning disabilities, often in day care settings. Much of this work involved organising activities within day centres and within local leisure, educational and work environments. The work was varied and interesting involving anything from getting together a summer programme of outings and trips to helping to promote a rock band set up by people with disabilities in one of the day centres.

John is currently working to provide activities to young people on the various wards in the hospital and setting up a range of trips and events within the Marsden’s catchment area, as well building up relationships with local colleagues and youth services in preparation for the much needed Teenage Cancer Trust Unit, which is due to be completed in 2011.

If you have any interesting ideas for activities or if you are a young person who needs some help with getting involved in leisure, educational or employment activities, John would like to hear from you.

Sarah Turley

Sarah’s background is in Counselling and Youth work. Her role on the unit includes delivering and developing therapeutic support, activities and informal education for young adults, both on and off site, focusing on the importance of peer support and youth led work.

As part of this work Sarah and her team have identified a large proportion of young people who are not in education, training or employment, which has led them to establish a link with ASDAN Awards and the Hospitals learning hub, plus work experience placements allowing all individuals to achieve and learn while in the unit.

Other projects in development include providing a complimentary therapist for patients and their friends/family, employing a learning mentor, Siblings Support group and the establishment of a group who will form a steering group for the Teenage and Young Adult service.

Carrie Galliford (BA hons Playwork)

Carrie has been in post at St James’s since October 2009. She works on the Teenage Cancer Trust Unit (Ward 94) which is for young people aged 18-24.

Carrie’s role is to provide patients with age-appropriate activities and therapeutic support, often tailored to an individual’s established interests. Carrie’s work also involves organising events that will encourage peer and social relationships, such as group workshops/activities. Carrie is currently developing a ward newsletter which is put together by the young people on the ward, using articles and features written by themselves.

Carrie is currently working towards setting up some social activities away from the ward which will accommodate outpatients as well as young people currently out of treatment. It is important to maintain a social network for young people who can support each other.

Carrie previously worked as a Psychological Assistant in the Prison Service, where her main role was working closely with offenders to encourage changes in their behaviour and thinking patterns, with the aim of reducing re-offending. Previous to this, Carrie has 2 years of experience working in Behavioural Support roles for young people with Autism, as well as young people with Emotional, Behavioural and Social difficulties.

Carrie enjoys travelling and has spent periods working and living in Ghana, West Africa teaching basic education. She has always enjoyed working with young people and feels fortunate to be working with such fantastic young people at St James’s.

Christopher Tsanos

Christopher provides part-time support to patients on our six bed unit at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool. This part time post is the first of its kind that Teenage Cancer Trust has funded at Alder Hey and means that patients within the unit will have better access to activities, interests and social interaction with other people going through the same experience. The funding of this post has been made possible by the generosity of supporters in the North West and particularly those in Merseyside and Liverpool.