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!