Young People
Helping young people, those under the age of 21, resist drug and alcohol misuse and achieve their full potential in society is a core aim of LDAAT and our partners in Lancashire.
Working pro-actively with this group is critical if the ultimate goal is a future free from the problems of substance misuse. Through the unique structure of the Lancashire Partnership we are engaging with young people as early as possible in their own environments such as schools and youth clubs.
We work hard in diverse ways to support the groups most vulnerable to substance misuse and individuals who already have drug and alcohol problems.
Support, education and services for Young People in Lancashire
Partner organisations like Lancashire Schools Effectiveness Service and Lancashire Healthy Schools work with young people in a variety of settings which can be formal or informal, for example in youth centres like the YMCA or youth clubs, and wherever young people feel relaxed and comfortable, such as skate parks or information shops.
They provide up to date and relevant information using appropriate material designed to appeal to this audience such as the “What now?” website, leaflet and helpline.
What Now? offers impartial and confidential information and advice on everything young people might need to know about, from the dangers of taking drugs to applying for a place in college, all delivered by fully qualified youth workers.
The Line to What Now? which handles over 60,000 telephone calls a year has been voted best helpline in national BT Helpline Association awards. It uses a range of interactive services which are available 10am – 10pm, 365 days a year like:
- The Line freephone helpline 0800 511111
- Q2A email enquiry service via www.q2a.co.uk/
- What Now? website at http://www.whatnow.co.uk/
- Webtalk – live real time webchat with a qualified advice worker
- Text advice service – text 07786 511111
Guidance for Lancashire schools on meeting the needs of children and young people in problem drug using families is provided via the publication entitled “Good Day at School?” which offers practical advice on how educational professionals can support children affected by their children’s problem drug use. For more details and to order a copy or review other resources visit the Lancashire Grid for Learning website at www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/lses/index.php?category_id=25
The post of County Substance Awareness Training Coordinator within the Young People’s Services of Lancashire County Council is funded by LDAAT, helping play an important role in the training and workforce development of multi-agency staff across Lancashire.
Streetsafe Lancashire, part of the charity The Children’s Society, is an organisation working with young people in care or those about to be admitted into care, where running away is an identified concern, is supported by LDAAT.
LDAAT also invests in a wide variety of community projects which directly benefit children, young people and families, themes which received renewed emphasis in the updated National Drugs Strategy “Drugs: protecting families and communities” Action Plan 2008 – 2011.
It does this via the LPSA Capital Funding Scheme which sits within Lancashire County Council and which can be utilised by Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRP’s) within District Councils and many other organisations.
Recent initiatives supported through this funding stream have included bike loan schemes for pupils in deprived areas, on-line IT suites in youth clubs and investment in multi-use games areas, the object being to provide educational opportunities and positive diversionary activities for the young.
For more information about the LPSA capital Grant Scheme and details of individual projects, see Issue 5 of the LDAAT newsletter Circulate, available in the Resources/Newsletter section of this site.
Where required, young people are referred or signposted to appropriate agencies and are given as much information as possible about relevant issues around drugs and alcohol and more importantly, where to go for help.
Young People’s Alcohol Project
This organisation, which is fully funded by LDAAT, works with partners to develop awareness raising and educational materials for young people around substance misuse including drugs, alcohol and tobacco.
It is based in the Trading Standards division within Lancashire County Council and consults and researches widely to develop initiatives to address health, anti-social behaviour and wider social issues. These initiatives involve young people, parents and retailers in identifying, developing and promoting positive messages.
Since 2007 the Alcohol Project has played a significant part in reducing the availability of alcohol and tobacco to young people across the county, efforts which have been acknowledged with winning first place in the Public Protection of the Year category at the Municipal Journal’s Local Government Achievement Awards 2008.
Awareness raising campaigns include the development of an award winning website www.lookoutalcohol.co.uk which received national recognition and a major cash prize. Designed by the young people of the county it won the Young People’s Involvement category in the national Mentor CHAMP Awards.
This user friendly interactive site, incorporates age appropriate alcohol education, offers downloadable lesson plans for teachers, homework based activities and an information section for parents and teachers around alcohol issues.
Blue Peter presenter Andy Akinwolere presents the winning cheque for £10,000 and a further £10,000 worth of mentoring and consultancy support in 2009.
The website has been identified by the Schools Effectiveness Service as being of great benefit to pupils in Years 5 and 6, (Key Stage 2) and because young people were involved in the site design, incorporating a strong fun element, pupils make significant use of the site in their leisure time.
A parallel “Lookout Tobacco” site www.lookouttobacco.co.uk has also been developed.
The Alcohol project has produced an information booklet entitled “CLEAR – Alcohol, You and your children”, which talks to young people and adults about the harm, risks and consequences of unsupervised and underage drinking. Just before Christmas 2008, 30,000 of these were distributed to the parents of Year 6 primary and Year 7 secondary schools across Lancashire.
Schools and Community Partnerships Team
Sitting within Lancashire Healthy Schools, the Schools and Community Partnership Team delivers a wide variety of support for schools in the county.
Teacher Advisers from the Team support schools in developing a whole school approach to drug education which includes alcohol, tobacco, medicine and illegal substances. They also provide support for schools in response to drug and alcohol related incidents.
Advice and support on policy development, training for the school workforce and other members of the school community and the production and provision of schemes of work is also offered. Schools are able to access resources for their work through the Lancashire Healthy Schools Programme.
The Team also organises and runs a network of meetings for primary and secondary schools to share best practice and raise awareness of health issues generally.
Consultation with young people is an important aspect of the Team’s work and they regularly run conferences covering all aspects of drug, alcohol and tobacco education.
Young People's Services Contacts can be found on the Useful Links and Staff Directory pages.