Talking Drugs Together

by Colin Cripps.

Peer education is currently flavour of the month in drugs education parlance. My own organisation, the Youth Awareness Programme (YAP), is widely known as a peer education project whereas in reality it is a different beast; I think "peer" needs a broader definition if we are to fit effective initiatives into it.

When we carried out street research with young people four years ago into what they thought of drugs education they told us that they didn't trust adults, who were seen as holding power which could be used against them (both teachers and parents), who were judgemental, out-of-date and out-of-touch, and who only gave one side of the argument. Lessons were seen as predictable and boring, and resources - usually photocopied A4's - as tatty by comparison to the magazines on the youth market, which were much more believable. Interestingly, people of their own age were not seen as potential educators either. They were seen as unreliable sources of information, prepared to "bullshit" if they didn't know answers, inexperienced, untried and therefore unreliable.

The group identified as credible and believable were young adults, those who "walked the walk and talked the talk" to which younger people aspired. They were mobile, free, had been there, seen it, done it and were therefore acceptable sources of information. Not all young adults would do; they had to be "of the street"; Rolling Stones, not ABBA.

Running a service which harnesses the voluntary skills of such young adults is no cheap and easy option. They have to be trained and supported properly. Our volunteers undergo a 22 session basic training programme covering not only drugs and running workshops but also equal opportunities issues, listening skills, public relations and a whole host of topics related to the work. This is followed up by a guided works experience or teacher-training programme where the training is put into practice under supervision, culminating in graduation to workshop-leader status.

Support takes the form of regular team meetings, informal discussion groups, line-management supervision and access to the counselling team themselves all ex-volunteers. Those who stay the distance then go on to receive a package of further in-service training or free access to external training, such as counselling certificate courses or advanced drugs courses.

The key to running such a scheme successfully (we now have 42 active volunteers) is to give as much ownership of the scheme as possible to the young adults (empowerment) while maintaining overall management responsibility. They are the ones who know youth culture, not the management. They know which areas of work to get into, what will be effective with young people.

Consequently, all our materials and resources are written and designed by volunteers, but supported by access to state of the art graphics computers and printing. We work extensively on the rave scene, providing a full first-aid, chill-out, message and advice-and-information service; the whole service was initiated, arranged, negotiated and organised by the team themselves. They understood what was required, how the scene operated and what promoters and ravers were looking for. Management's job then becomes one of ensuring that policies and protocols are in place, proper traininq provided and insurance covered.

There are difficulties with such teams of young adults or "peer" educators. To be effective they have to come from the communities they are working with. This means that they bring with them all the personal issues and prejudices of that community. Our team is a broad mix of black, white and Asian, male and female, straight and gay, atheist, Christian and Muslim. While to the outside world they are a solid family, there are strongly held beliefs that divide them on particular issues. These issues have to be tackled constantly within the framework of an equal opportunities policy and an atmosphere of constructive supportiveness. Young people - some might say thankfully, others naively - will generally be forthright rather than hypocritically politically correct. The debates have to happen, but in a safe internal environment, not in front of young people. When out at work, the rules apply in full.

So you can see that I'm not a great follower of traditional peer education. Peers only remain peers for a year or two in any case. I'm not even a believer in drugs education services that stay separate from treatment. We provide a full confidential outreach counselling service to back up workshops; credibility for the workshop service in terms of knowledge and understanding of the nature of young peoples' drug use. Now that's what we call an integrated young peoples' drug service.

Wiv E-fect Nuff Respect YAP

Colin Cripps, Youth Awareness Programme, London.

RISING YOUNG DRUG USE AND SCHOOL EXCLUSIONS IN THE 1990S

Pick 'n' Mix: Changing patterns of illicit drug use amongst 1990s adolescents, by Howard Parker and Fiona Measham, University of Manchester .

Based on a follow up survey of over 700 adolescents from north west England during their final year of compulsory schooling.

1. In 1991 59 percent of respondents had been in drug offer situations; in the 1992 follow-up the rate had increased to 71 per cent.
2. Girls are as likely to be in offer situations as boys, and black and white people more likely to be in situations than Asians.
3. In terms of drug respondents were asked from a list of 11 drugs. The survey showed 47 per cent trying at least one illicit drug compoared with 36 per cent in the previous year.

Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) survey of 428 secondary schools in the academic year 1992/1993 (The Guardian, 26 October 1994)

1. 900 pupils expelled, nearly 1,200 suspended and 9,700 ordered out of school for fixed periods.
2. If representative they could mean more than 8,000 are expelled each year, more than double the number in 1991/1992.

Note: Exclusion figures for all schools will not be available until 1997 when OFSTED completes its four year inspection cycle.