jelppiverkko
- Do you need support?
- Feeling lost about your direction?
- Need someone who will listen?
- Are things getting complicated?
- Does it feel like you can’t manage alone?
At Jelppiverkko, you can find outreach youth workers as well as personal and start-up coaches. You can learn more about Jelppiverkko’s coaching and activities on these pages.
Jelppiverkko is a service for young people, created to help find solutions together for different challenges in life. The service is for young people aged 15–28, and all support is voluntary, confidential and free of charge. All Jelppiverkko activities are substance-free. The support is always youth-based, meaning everything is done according to the young person’s own needs and wishes. Jelppiverkko offers low-threshold support, meaning help is easy to access — sometimes even by simply sending a message.
Jelppiverkko operates in nine municipalities: Alavieska, Haapavesi, Kalajoki, Merijärvi, Oulainen, Reisjärvi, Sievi, Siikalatva and Ylivieska. Outreach youth work is available in all nine municipalities. Individual and start-up coaching services are available in Haapavesi, Kalajoki, Oulainen, Sievi, Siikalatva and Ylivieska.
NEED SOME SUPPORT?
Do you have questions spinning around in your mind without answers? Through the contact form for help (Jelppauslomake), you can easily get in touch with Jelppiverkko’s outreach youth workers.
Learn more:
OUTREACH YOUTH WORK
Outreach youth work supports young people aged 15–28 in many different life situations. The goal is to find solutions together for everyday challenges and, when needed, guide young people to suitable services — always with the young person’s permission and on their own terms. You can meet with an outreach youth worker at the office, in a café, at school, or even while spending time outdoors. You can talk with them about anything that is on your mind, and no concern is too small or too big. If something is bothering you, it is okay to talk about it. Together, you can think about the future and ways to make everyday life easier. You can also explore a new hobby with an outreach worker, chat around a campfire, or spend time together at Jelppikahvila.
An outreach youth worker can help you
- talk about everyday life and challenges
- participate in different groups
- visit offices and services together
- fill out official forms and applications
- find a suitable hobby
- think about future plans
…and much more!
How to reach an outreach youth worker
A young person can contact an outreach youth worker directly, or a family member or another trusted adult can make a contact request with the young person’s permission. Young people can also contact outreach youth work anonymously.
The website yhteysetsivaan.fi is a free nationwide contact system through which a young person’s information can be safely and quickly transferred to outreach youth work in accordance with data protection regulations. The system uses secure identification for logging in.
Through the Jelppauslomake (contact form for help) a young person can ask for help for themselves or for a friend. The information is forwarded to Jelppiverkko’s outreach youth work team, and the outreach worker from the young person’s home municipality will contact them as soon as possible.
The website Entit.fi includes up-to-date contact information for all outreach youth workers in Finland.
Authorities are required to provide the necessary contact information to outreach youth work without the young person’s permission if a young adult (over 18 years) has discontinued upper secondary studies, military or civilian service has been interrupted or the authority knows the young person needs support but is unable to access services (Youth Act 1285/2016).
Online outreach youth worker
The online outreach youth worker operates online and can be reached on platforms such as Discord and Instagram. The online outreach youth worker listens to and supports young people online and, when needed, guide them to suitable services with the young person’s permission.
On Jelppiverkko’s Discord channel, you can chat anonymously, join open group discussions or send private messages. The online outreach worker is available on the Jelppiverkko Discord channel on Fridays from 9 AM to 3 PM.
On Instagram, the online outreach worker shares updates about current topics and information about changing theme weeks on Discord. You can also send direct messages to the online outreach worker on Instagram.
INDIVIDUAL AND START-UP COACHING
Individual and start-up coaches provide personal and group-based support, guidance, and activities to help young people find their own path. The activities emphasize understanding and accepting individual differences, as well as the principles of equality and inclusion. The activities are led by Jelppiverkko’s individual and start-up coaches.
The goal of individual coaching is to improve a young person’s life management skills and social skills, support their ability to live independently, promote personal growth and participation in society, and strengthen readiness for education and working life. During individual coaching, a personal coaching plan is created together with the young person to identify the best ways to help them achieve their own goals.
The aim of group coaching is to strengthen social skills, build self-confidence, and help young people recognize their own strengths through group activities and peer support. Group coaching provides information and practical skills needed for independent living, studying, job searching, and working life. The groups focus on themes that arise from young people’s own wishes and needs while supporting their personal growth. Group activities also offer opportunities to experience a sense of community, practice interaction skills, and gain positive experiences in a safe environment. Group activities are open to Jelppiverkko clients.
Jelppiverkko’s personal and start-up coaching services organize different kinds of group activities, such as the low-threshold Jelppikahvila, regional group days, and other activities based on the needs of young people. You can also explore these groups together with an outreach youth worker.
In our main coaching programs, participants gain knowledge and learn practical skills that are essential for independent living and everyday life management. Jelppikahvila offers a chance to break the loneliness of everyday life and connect with new people. It is a low-threshold space where young people can easily sort out their personal tasks and receive peer support from one another.
Start-up coaching is an 8-session group coaching program focused on personal life and future planning. The aim is to help participants find their own path in a small-group setting.
Online coaching takes place in an online environment and is suitable for young people who are unable to take part in live group coaching. If you are interested in joining Jelppiverkko’s group activities, please contact your local Jelppiverkko team.
THE ESSENCE AND BACKGROUND OF JELPPIVERKKO
Jelppiverkko vision:
“Jelppiverkko stands by young people — building hope, walking alongside them, and responding to their individual needs. We are an approachable, dependable, and modern network-based service that supports young people toward a future that looks like their own. Our goal is to become an established, nationally recognised, and impactful organisation.”
The values guiding our work are:
"Approachability, reliability, youth-centred support, equality"
Our slogan is:
”Kaikenlaisuus on ok”
which means that it is okay to be whatever you are!
Jelppiverkko began operating in 2009 and has grown into a regional cooperation and expertise network. In addition to outreach youth workers and individual coaches providing start-up coaching, Jelppiverkko also employs a coordinator.
The coordinator is responsible for development work and for coordinating and connecting activities within Jelppiverkko and between the municipalities. The coordinator also acts as the presenter and secretary of Jelppiverkko’s steering group.
Jelppiverkko is funded through government grants for outreach youth work and youth workshop activities, as well as municipal funding. The employees are employed by the municipalities. The operational activities of Jelppiverkko are led by the coordinator appointed by the steering group, while the City of Oulainen is responsible for administration.
