Guilherme Simon Silva

As a Youth Support Worker at Emerge Aotearoa, I provide day-to-day support to youth in an intensive residential service, where I work with up to three clients at a time. My role is focused around building strong, trusting relationships with clients, helping them navigate challenges, and supporting their personal growth and development. During my time at Emerge, I have gained valuable experience working with youth facing a range of complex issues, including addiction, mental health challenges, and trauma resulting from sexual assault. My approach is rooted in empathy, compassion, and a commitment to creating a safe and supportive environment for each individual.

In my role, I assist in the development and implementation of personalized care plans that address the unique needs of each client. I support clients in their daily living activities, including personal care, education, life skills development, and recreational activities, while also helping them build coping skills and manage emotions. A key aspect of my work is collaborating with a staff team, case managers, and social workers to ensure that clients receive the best care possible. I am responsible for maintaining accurate records of client progress, incidents, observations, medication and I implement crisis intervention strategies when necessary to de-escalate difficult situations. As my experience was gained in an intensive residential service I can ensure that I have a large knowledge in Crisis situations, being able to de-escalate situations with the best outcome.

Over the past eight months, I have had the opportunity to work with a diverse group of young people, gaining insight into different personalities and challenges. This experience has enhanced my ability to engage with individuals from various backgrounds and has strengthened my problem-solving, communication, and conflict resolution skills. In addition to my hands-on experience, I have completed a range of professional certifications, including all those listed before, which have provided me with advanced knowledge and practical skills in supporting vulnerable youth. I am also currently completing a Level 4 Certificate in Health and Wellbeing, which will further enhance my qualifications and ability to provide effective, evidence-based support. I will complete my Level 4 in June.

Throughout my time at Emerge Aotearoa, I have gained a deep understanding of youth mental health, addiction recovery, and trauma-informed care. My work has allowed me to develop a comprehensive skill set in crisis management, client engagement, and working within a structured residential care environment. This experience has equipped me with the tools to create a positive impact on the lives of the young people I support.

I used to play in a pro basketball team in Brazil, we saw a real need in our community for support with troubled/homeless kids so we decided as a team to start a foundation with the community city hall to get them involved into a basketball program run by our team. This included teaching them basketball skills and interplementing it into life. While we were doing this we also started taking them out into the community and encouraging them to be strength based while staying away from crime. We did this for a couple of years, this also evolved into getting the community to help out by donating food/house products when they came and watched our pro basketball games.