Drug issues are a prominent problem for young people throughout the entire world, but the world is a big place, so we are focusing on the issue across the UK. Many young people across the UK turn to drugs for different reasons, and a lot of the time they don’t fully understand the severity of doing this until it’s too late.
Let’s Talk Drugs is an awareness campaign run by young people for young people. Here is a message from Mair, the young campaigner behind Let’s talk drugs:
I started this campaign in collaboration with Neighbourhood Watch Network, because young people and drug issues is a really big problem in my local area and I really wanted to take some steps to change this. The campaign aims to make young people take drug addiction more seriously as well as raise awareness of the severe impact it has on them. So if you could share any of the campaign resources or raise awareness of the campaign among your friends that would be amazing. Follow us on social media and don’t forget to use hashtag #drugsknowmore .’
Mair
The campaign runs from 8th to 22nd February 2021, and we encourage you to get involved. We’ve created some resources for this campaign, such as a help sheet, conversation starters and how to prepare yourself for a conversation about drugs in order to try and help young people who suffer from drug issues themselves or know someone who is. You can get involved in the Let’s talk drugs campaign in different ways, by:
- following our social media and sharing the campaign content, look out for for #drugsknowmore on Twitter and Instagram
- listening to and sharing the #drugsknowmore podcast (why not listen to the podcast with your friends and discuss it later?)
- having a conversation about drugs with a friend (you talk to any of your friends or siblings, but if you decide to talk to someone who might be using drugs please make sure to check our Conversation Cheat Sheet & Helpful Organisations Sheet to prepare yourself for the conversation)
- taking part in the anonymous Let’s talk drugs survey - you can access it here
- downloading and sharing the resources we’ve created for you
Downloadable resources:
Is anyone you know affected by drugs? Would you like to have a chat with them about it but don’t know how? Check out our Conversation Cheat Sheet. We also create a Support Info Sheet with information featuring some great support organizations. These sheets are designed to make having conversations about drugs easier and less stressful. Make sure to download them onto your phone, so you can access them easily when you need them!
- Conversation Cheat Sheet - this is a document with different pages to help you have a conversation about drugs with somebody. Here you can find:
- Do’s + Don’ts of a conversation- a list of 8 things you should and should not do when having a conversation about drugs with a friend.
- How to prepare yourself for a conversation – a list of 4 easy things you can do to make having a conversation about drugs a bit easier for everyone involved.
- Conversation starters – example of 4 sentences you could use to start a conversation about drugs.
- Helpful Organisations Sheet – this sheet contains a list of both wellbeing support organizations, and drug addiction support organizations. It gives you a brief description of each organization (what they do, what kind of organization they are, etc) along with information about how to access support. So if you know anyone who might need support with their addition please check the great organizations which are out there!
Make sure you download and share these resources. You never know when you might need them and it’s good to have them on hand when having a conversation about drugs with a friend.
Podcasts: Tune in and tell your friends about our podcast series, to really get to know the real-life effects that taking drugs has on you both mentally and physically. Get to know the immense damage drugs really cause. In the podcast Mair Williams will be talking about the consequences of drug taking and being involved with drugs on young people. If you enjoy the podcast and learn something new make sure to like and share it with a friend. Each week she will be joined by a different guest who in some way has been impacted by drugs. Our first guest is Paul Hannaford, an educator and an ex-drug user and ex-gang member who talks about his experiences with drugs and the effects they had on his life.
Social media: Follow us on twitter and Instagram to learn some facts and figures about drug issues in young people, spot some quotes from famous people about drugs, and stay up to date with the new podcast episodes. We also created some sample social media graphics you can use during the campaign week. Feel free to create your own and tag us to show us. Do not forget to use the hashtag #drugsknowmore. You could also ask your school or university to promote our campaign on their own social media, to help us reach as many young people as we can!
- Twitter - @drugsknowmore
- Instagram - @drugsknowmore
If you have any questions or would like to get involved in the campaign, get in touch us on social media or email Mair at youngpeople@ourwatch.org.uk.