What happens when you contact ASTRA?
Firstly, we will make arrangements to see you as soon as possible
(usually within 24 hours). We understand that if you are worried
about things, you don’t want to be waiting for a long time to talk to
someone and get advice.
We will arrange to meet you wherever you feel most comfortable.
This may be in a café, in school, at a friend’s house - it’s up to
you to choose.
When we meet, we will explain a bit more about what ASTRA can
help you with (housing, school, family problems etc…) and about our
confidentiality policy.
We will be able to keep most things you tell us to ourselves and
we will explain clearly about the things we can’t.
It will then be up to you to decide if you want to carry on with
the meeting. If you do, we will listen to what you have to say and
take you seriously.
We don’t tell you what to do - we offer you choices and
options, depending on what your problems are and it is then up to you
to make decisions. We will support you through this process - we
won’t leave you to get on with things yourself, unless this is what
you choose to do.
Some young people only meet us for a few sessions and then decide
things are OK and they don’t need contact any more. That’s OK, but we
reassure them they can phone any time if things get bad again. Other
young people meet with us for much longer - that’s OK too - if you
need us, we will be there for you, both face to face and via telephone.
If you are worried about yourself or someone else, please call us
on 0800 389 4992. It might seem scary,
but young people who have used ASTRA have found it really useful and
trustworthy - see their comments
in the young people's section.
 |
Click
here to listen to a Gloucester runaway talking about her
experiences - excerpt from Home Truths broadcast on Radio 4, May
2002. |
