Themes:
- Young volunteers as peer educators
- Promoting healthy living in the community
Background
The DASL Peer Education Project was set up to train local young people aged 16 to 25 years to work with their peers around substance misuse, anti-social behaviour, crime reduction, sexual health and confidence building. Since its inception in 2002, the project has developed, co-ordinated and supported young peer educators to deliver education in local schools, pupil referral units, venues and youth clubs. It has received funding from the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund and the Youth and Crime Unit.
A key aim of the project was to provide an accredited peer education initiative that would help to address the increasing pressures on young people to experiment with substances at an early age and reduce social exclusion. It was also envisaged that, in line with research findings and national guidance, this could increase the motivation and self-esteem of local people and potentially increase their access to other local health and social care providers.
Recruitment and selection
Recruitment of volunteers took up a significant amount of the budget as full- colour flyers were distributed through community organisations, universities, schools, cafes, bars, and the local and national press. The recruitment of the volunteer peer educators was conducted by DASL’s Peer Educator Co-ordinator who selected 28 trainee peer educators from a total of 180 applicants. The selection was based on enthusiasm, intellectual ability and most importantly, the ability to relate to other young people and to have ‘credit’ in their eyes. It was hoped that the choice of peer educator would reflect the complex and diverse nature of young people in the area.
The young peer educators cited the following as factors for their volunteering:
- To gain experience working with young people
- To help others and explore future career options
- To gain the qualification
- To do something new and interesting and meet new people
- To gain more understanding of the issues involved
Training
Three months of training (2 hours per week) by DASL staff and specialist partner agencies was undertaken with selected peer educators. They finished training in August 2004 and completed portfolios which were submitted to the London Open College Network for accreditation.
Education and employment
Once they have been trained, the volunteers deliver workshops in schools, community groups, housing estate projects, festivals and events and they also deliver presentations as requested. Although it is extremely difficult to measure the outcomes of such work, almost 500 young people have received education formally and informally as a result of the project, superseding targets significantly, and both the recipients and the volunteers have given positive feedback. Of the volunteers, up to 30% have gone into employment and training in related fields, such as play and youth work, detached street work, gay young people’s projects, teaching and counselling courses.
Reward and recognition
DASL continually reinforces self-confidence of young volunteers through positive feedback. The Substance Misuse Outreach Worker personally writes an official thank you for every project a volunteer participates in, and volunteers receive subsistence and free training materials. The peer educators also received a mention in DASL’s annual report and at the annual general meeting, and had the opportunity to present to, and meet with politicians at the Greater London Authority meeting on alcohol and drug use.
For further information contact:
Amy Wilkinson
Substance Misuse Outreach Worker
DASL – Drug and Alcohol Service for London
2nd Floor
94 – 100 Christian Street
Whitechapel
London E1 1RS
Tel: 0207 702 0002
