What’s the role of a Navigator?
Navigators proactively identify vulnerable young people, helping them to access and engage the support they need to prevent any potential escalation of violence and reduce the risk of repeat victimisation or exploitation.
They coordinate support for those young people admitted to emergency departments right through to their discharge back into the community.
Who are the Navigators?
Meet the team
Katy Cline
Navigator Coordinator
Katy works face to face with young people on the project whilst also looking at some of the background work like budgets and monitoring.
She is a passionate youth worker, having worked with young people in a variety of settings, including residential trips away and large open access youth clubs.
Katy also volunteers with the Liverpool Youth Offending Team and enjoys working with young people to positively impact their lives.
Andrew Miles
Navigator
Miles is based at the hospitals, working face to face with young people on the project.
He has been a youth worker for 10 years, working with young people in various settings across the North West.
Miles’ passion is music, and he has been a vinyl D.J for over 20 years!
Ryan Spencer
Navigator
Ryan is one of our Navigators. He is based within Alder Hey’s Children’s Hospital, working directly with young people.
Ryan has lots of experience working with children, young people and their families due to his background as a 1:1 teaching assistant and a youth support worker on various youth-led projects.
Ryan aims to spread positivity, gratitude and happiness by making a positive difference in people’s lives and promoting positive outcomes for the young people that he works with.
John Riley
Navigator
John Riley is one of the navigators at MYA. He works across all three hospitals within my role.
His background is teaching, coaching and mentoring and his aim is to bring across his knowledge and experience he has gained over the years to our team. This supports us in transferring those on to the young people that we will be working with on a daily basis.
His hobbies and interests are to spend quality time with family, play and watch football and attend the gym as much as he can.
How are we funded?
Funded by the Merseyside Violence Prevention Partnership (VRP), Navigator support is delivered through Merseyside Youth Association.
Merseyside’s Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP) is one of 18 Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) established across England and Wales helping the government to deliver its Serious Violence Strategy, (published in 2018), in response to national increases in knife crime, gun crime and homicide.
The VRP brings together Merseyside Police, Merseyside Fire and Rescue, local government, National Probation Service and the county’s Youth Offending Service, health and education professionals, community leaders and other key partners.