A fantastic weekend

The 26th and 27th of March was the first weekend the group of Youth Advisors all met each other. The aim of the weekend was to get the group thinking about drug and alcohol prevention and to decide what area of drug prevention they want to explore over the next few months. There were loads of interesting ideas and views which came out over the weekend and by the Sunday there were 5 front runners:

• media representation of young people's use of drugs and alcohol and its role in delivering positive or negative drug prevention messages;


• the knowledge and understanding of trusted adults (for example parents, carers or teachers) around issues to do with drug and alcohol use;


• ease of access to alcohol;


• alternative activities for young people; and drug and alchol education.

After a vote, it was decided that the focus would be drug and alcohol education. The Youth Advisors want to find out about how many young people are receiving drug education in their schools, how frequently, what the content is and how young people think it could be improved. They want to survey and speak to young people across the capital to find out their views, and to hear from health experts, the police, teachers and others about their views on what should be included in a high quality drug/alcohol curriculum. The group was shocked to discover how inconsistent their own experiences were. Some advisors couldn't recall lessons on drugs and alcohol, others only remembered filling in worksheets occasionally, while others thought that their education was very patchy indeed. Only one member of the group spoke of excellent drug and alcohol edcuation in school. The Youth Advisors want ALL young people to have a positive experience of good drug and alcohol education. They want to do all they can to get this message heard!

Exciting times ahead

We have a brilliant group of young people who have joined the project as Youth Advisors. They will meet as a group for the first time on the 26th March. The aim of the weekend is for the Youth Advisors to decide what areas of drug and alcohol prevention they want to focus on over the coming months. It's going to be an exciting weekend for us, because it will see the London Youth Involvement Project start to take shape.
Over the next year, the Youth Advisors will carry out research and present their findings and recommendations to key decision makers - making sure that the voices of young people in London are heard. They won't only be representing themselves, but also the young people they have carried out research with.
I can't wait!

London Youth Involvement Project up and running

After a short pause, the LYIP is up and running again. We're really excited about 2011 and the chance for the project to make a real difference to drug and alcohol prevention in London.

We are now recruiting a team of Youth Advisors to share their views about why young people use drugs and alcohol and what might help them to make positive choices. They will:

• work together to think about what politicians and officials are getting right and what they are getting wrong;
• gather the opinions of other young people across London to find out what they think;
• hold events to share their thoughts, and the thoughts of other young people, with politicians and other important decision-makers;
• develop lots of skills and gain accreditation.

This is a great opportunity to get your voice heard. If you are 12-15 and living in any of the London boroughs, we'd love to hear from you. Get in touch with Nicola at Mentor UK. Phone: 020 7739 8494/07908 989377 or Email: nicola.strivens@mentoruk.org

CHAMP Awards - lots of dosh up for grabs!

Mentor UK's CHAMP Awards give cash prizes of £10,000 (yes, you read it right!) for projects that help children develop healthy attitudes towards alcohol, and is open to projects all over England, Wales and Scotland.

With the deadline of 21st April fast approaching, there's less than 1 MONTH LEFT for you to apply.

So if you run, help with or know of a project, be it a school, a youth club or youth-led initiative and want to know how you can get in on the action, check out the CHAMP website here.

Tell everyone you know and good luck to anyone applying!

Dawn Butler MP meets young people from Calderdale

A group of young people are today meeting with Dawn Butler MP, Minister for Young Citizens and Youth Engagement, highlighting the government's commitment to involving young people in their work and getting young voices heard.

The five young people, from the Youth Inspectors programme, will get the chance to discuss with Dawn the issues they find important to them.

Read the full story here and tell us what you think!

Youth Advisors consulted by the DCSF!

On Thursday 18th February, the first of the recruits to Mentor UK's Youth Advisor team went to the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to be consulted about various issues relating to the government's drug policy and work with young people.

For consideration in the development of the National Drug Strategy's 2010-11 Action Plan, the DCSF's Subtance Misuse Team Leader David Chater met with the 13 young people who worked in small teams and took part in group discussion to thrash out topics including:

What are the main drugs that young people are exposed to, what causes young people to use drugs, and what effects and consequences can they have?

Where do young people get information on drugs, what is school drug education like, and how useful is the FRANK helpline?

What might the government to do educate young people more about drugs, how can they help young people who have familiy members who abuse drugs, and what could the government change to make services and information better?

The young people came up with some fantastic ideas and discussions, and although there was much more to say after the meeting was over the DCSF found the outcome really impressive and useful.

Check out the photos from the event on the LYIP website now!

Watch out for more updates about the young people's consultation events, the DCSF's work and how the young people's views are considered by decision-makers.

And we're off!

The London Youth Involvement Project is underway, starting with a consultation by the Substance Misuse Team at the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) later this month!

The DCSF are after the young people's views on several issues relating to drug problems and services for young people, and the meeting is due to take place on Thursday 18th February.

Check back here for an update!