Youth Access

Member Profile: The Matthew Project Under 18 Service, a new Norfolk based drug and alcohol service

08 September, 2010

The Matthew Project Under18 Service is a multi-agency team which has been running since October 2009. It includes young people’s substance misuse workers, counsellors, nurses and a social worker who are employed by The Matthew Project, Trust Alcohol and Drug Service and Children’s Services.

The Service comprises three teams based in King’s Lynn, Norwich and Great Yarmouth, who provide a range of universal, targeted and specialist interventions for young people under the age of 18 across the whole of Norfolk.

Young people are met in any appropriate location. This could be in school, a community centre, a local surgery or a team base. As well as supporting young people who use drugs or alcohol, they also work with their parents and carers and young people whose family members use substances.

What services do they offer?

Universal and Targeted interventions include:
• Lessons, assemblies and workshops focused on drugs and alcohol in schools and alternative educational settings
• Informal Education on the Matthew Project Voicebox Caravan in schools and other community settings
• Pro-active outreach for targeted groups of young people
• Advice and Information

• One-to-one support and brief interventions
• Support for young people, parents or carers affected by someone else’s substance misuse
• Support for parents and carers including drug and alcohol awareness sessions

Specialist interventions include:
• Comprehensive Assessment
• Regular one-to-one support with a care plan
• Counselling
• Harm reduction including blood borne viruses testing and vaccinations
• Community prescribing
• Family interventions
• Access to residential substance misuse treatment

The Project also provides consultancy for anyone working with young people with a drug and alcohol issue.

The positive impact of The Project
Ten months into the new service, the Matthew Project’s multi-disciplinary approach has shown to be effective in making a real difference to young people’s lives. This is particularly noticeable in complex cases where information sharing between Children’s Services, Health and the voluntary sector is essential to positive outcomes for young people.

What do young people think of the service?
Feedback from young people using the Under18 Service continues to be very positive with 99% of young people describing the service as ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’ in the first 6 months of service.

“I quit using weed and got my job back” – Comment from young person leaving Under18 after successful treatment.

What next for The Project?
The Matthew Project Under 18 Service will be a year old in October, and as with many service providers they are hoping that their levels of service for the coming year will not be adversely affected by the approaching Comprehensive Spending Review. They are constantly seeking new and innovative ways of working and have plans to target black and minority ethnic groups across Norfolk to ensure that young people have equitable access to our service.

From September 2010 counsellors are piloting work with primary school children who are affected by parental alcohol or substance misuse. This is part of The Project’s drive to impact the Hidden Harm agenda and to make a real difference to younger children affected by this issue.

How has Youth Access helped?
Graeme Stewart, Service Manager at the project: ‘Youth Access provides us with a network of credible services and contacts and enables us to keep up-to-date with key national agendas and funding opportunities. In the current climate of significant government changes, this kind of information is invaluable.’

Visit the The Project's website

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