At YSS, we want to see a society where everyone has the confidence, support and freedom to make informed choices and shape the future they choose.
The YSS Vision
We believe everyone deserves to be listened to, treated with dignity and supported on their own terms. Through services including Worcestershire Young Carers, Every Step Together, Remember Veterans, Chrysalis for Women and Connect, we provide practical, person-centred support shaped around people’s needs.
We also work to influence how justice and care systems respond, encouraging approaches built on trust, understanding and respect.
Our Theory of Change
Our Theory of Change explains how the support we provide connects to the changes we want to see for individuals, communities and wider justice and care systems.
Our work focuses on three connected areas:
- Children and Adults
- Families and Communities
- Influence and Insight
Together, these areas guide how we work alongside people, families and communities, while contributing to wider changes in services and systems. Our Theory of Change helps us stay focused on what matters: respecting people’s choices, recognising their strengths and creating opportunities for them to shape their own futures.
Explore Our Theory of Change
Learn more about our vision, purpose and how we work alongside people to help them shape their own futures.
Our Mission and Purpose
Our mission and purpose guide how we work alongside people and families, and the wider changes we want to help bring about.
Our Mission
At YSS, our mission is to walk alongside people with experience of the justice and care systems, helping them rebuild confidence, find purpose and develop independence. We take time to listen, understand what matters to each person and build trusting relationships that recognise their strengths and choices.
Through restorative, person-centred practice, we also work to influence how services and systems respond.
Our Purpose
We exist to change how people are supported — from crisis and compliance to care, trust and belief — enabling people to move forward on their own terms.
We want people to feel heard, respected and able to make their own choices. This means recognising their experiences, believing in their potential and providing support that allows them to build stability and make progress at a pace that works for them.
Why Change Is Needed
People involved in the justice and care systems often face challenges that affect their confidence, emotional wellbeing and relationships.
Stigma, disrupted relationships and a lack of consistent, long-term support can leave people feeling isolated or unsure where to turn, particularly when services focus on immediate crises rather than understanding their individual circumstances.
Through our criminal justice support services and wider work, we respond with consistent, person-centred support that reflects each person’s experiences and circumstances.
Support YSS Today
Want to support our work? You can make a donation or volunteer your time to help us continue supporting people in our local communities.
Putting Our Theory of Change Into Practice
We put our Theory of Change into practice through three connected areas: direct work with children and adults, family and community relationships, and influence and insight.
Children and Adults: Direct Work
We work alongside children and adults at their own pace, taking time to understand their experiences and agree support that reflects what matters to them. Our work focuses on emotional wellbeing, confidence and practical stability through:
- Restorative one-to-one support: Personalised plans developed together, with regular sessions focused on individual needs and goals.
- Emotional wellbeing and identity programmes: Safe spaces for reflection, building confidence and understanding personal experiences.
- Peer mentoring and advocacy: Helping people express their views, understand their options and have a stronger say in decisions affecting them.
- Trauma-informed programmes: Exploring how life experiences can affect behaviour, feelings and relationships through restorative learning and discussion.
Related Services
Worcestershire Young Carers | Chrysalis for Women | Remember Veterans | Connect
Community: Relationships and Connections
We work alongside families and communities to strengthen relationships, maintain connections and provide consistent support. Our approach focuses on building trust and helping people feel connected to those around them through:
- Family-engaged transition support: Helping people maintain emotional stability and stay connected during important life changes.
- Restorative approaches with partners: Providing training, coaching and shared learning to encourage caring, consistent and relationship-focused services.
- Knowledge and practice-sharing: Working with voluntary, community and statutory organisations to exchange experiences, evidence and approaches to support.
Related Services
Influence and Insight: Systems Change
Through research, lived experience and learning from our direct work, we identify barriers and help shape more restorative, person-centred justice and care systems. Our work includes:
- Research and learning: Using outcomes data, evidence and lived experience to identify barriers and inform service design.
- Policy and practice engagement: Working with commissioners, leaders and practitioners to encourage restorative approaches and long-term support.
- Partnerships for systems change: Sharing learning and strengthening restorative practice through local, regional and national partnerships.
Related Partnerships and Resources
The Changes We Want to See
Everyone’s circumstances and goals are different. Our Theory of Change identifies four key outcomes we want our support to contribute towards:
- Confidence and stability: Helping people develop emotional wellbeing, practical stability and a stronger sense of purpose.
- Choice and independence: Supporting people to make informed decisions, express their needs and take ownership of their own progress.
- Stronger relationships and connections: Helping people build and maintain relationships, feel a sense of belonging and participate in their communities.
- Better access to support: Helping people understand their options, communicate their needs and navigate services with greater clarity and confidence.
These outcomes guide how we work alongside people, recognising that progress looks different for everyone and should reflect what matters most to them.
Changing Systems for the Long Term
Alongside direct support, YSS works with partners, commissioners and practitioners to influence how justice and care systems respond. Our Theory of Change identifies four wider outcomes we want to contribute towards:
- Equitable progress for all: A society where everyone has the recognition, conditions and opportunities to pursue a meaningful life, regardless of their background or circumstances.
- Restorative justice and care systems: Services that place dignity, equity and personal growth at the centre of their approach, recognising people’s potential and circumstances.
- Progression-driven policy and reform: Policies that prioritise personal choice, independence and sustainable progress beyond individual services.
- A culture of shared responsibility: Stronger connections between services, communities and wider society, where responsibility for creating supportive conditions is shared.
We use research, lived experience and partnerships to inform policy and service design, encouraging approaches that address underlying difficulties and support progress beyond individual services.
Find Out More About YSS
If you’d like to learn more about how YSS works alongside people, families and communities, you can explore our services and the support available. You can also help us continue this work by making a donation, volunteering or getting involved in other ways.
Thanks to our Patron, HRH The Princess Royal & our Funders & Partners
