It’s unseasonably warm in Sheffield, but the heat barely registers. Andy Lawley, a project worker based in Sheffield for Hope UK, is speaking with a passion about the drug and addiction issues facing young people today. Lawley waits for his ‘Long Black’, a watered-down espresso, as he explains that all Hope UK volunteers and staff are alcohol, drug and nicotine-free. As I ask my questions, Lawley speaks with a growing level of concern about the rising levels of young people, in university or younger, dealing with drug use.
Hope UK is a small, national charity that focuses on the prevention of drug use, supporting healthy relationships and choices for young people that can equip them to prevent addiction. Lawley emphasises that Hope UK is about making wise decisions, and educating young people about the dangers of drug use before exposure. Whilst Hope UK focuses on prevention through education, they also come into contact with those who are using drugs, and their work can impact those people too. With four full-time staff, four part-time staff and fifty volunteers across the country, each member is trained using courses certified by Open College Network to a high standard of education about drug use and prevention. More than just a certificate, Lawley points out, Hope UK makes it a priority for all volunteers to work in a way that is always informed on best practice. They are trained in a variety of different teaching methods, allowing them to connect with young people during sessions.
Hope UK runs an 8 session “Drugs, Life and You” workshop for secondary schools, which focuses on issues such as healthy relationships, wise choices, drug education, confidence, self-esteem, social capital (a synonym for peer pressure, as Lawley explains with a smile that teenagers don’t appreciate being told they will get peer pressured). In fact, Hope UK does so much more than drug prevention. It equips teenagers, and even children in Primary Schools, to make healthy choices. With no central funding, Hope UK relies on personal donors and trust funds, as well as its reserves. As is the case with all charities, funding is essential to maintain the work they do.
Hope UK started in 1847 as ‘Band of Hope’, initially with the concern of children around the ever-growing presence of Gin Houses. It became Hope UK in 1995 and will shortly celebrate 180 years as a charity. Given the Christian heritage of Hope UK, all volunteers and staff are Christian but, as Andy says, “it’s who we are, not what we do.”
As I broach the question of how Universities such as York can approach the complex issue of drug use, Lawley says firmly: “Education.” With Universities having a legal requirement to take a tough line against drugs, this leaves a space in which young people are driven to underground drug use and addiction. It is crucial to change the culture, Lawley suggests, by implementing a support system that will educate and aid without judgement. An online site of E-Resources centring around drug education and prevention would allow privacy and accessibility to those struggling, particularly in the case of mental health issues which are common with drug use.
Lawley tells me that a Universities UK Survey taken in July 2024 states that 53% of students used cannabis last year, which is a severe spike from the national crime statistic of 15.3% of people using in the last year. Moreover, of the students who had used drugs in the last 12 months, a high 44% wanted to reduce their use. Lawley eagerly points out that “there is space to work here”, and there is. With Hope UK having recently won a grant in Worcestershire to train teachers, youth workers, foster careers and mentors in drug education, there is a clear path to working with Universities and more young people.
My last question, “Are there regional differences in young people’s drug use,” developed into an alarming education on the County Lines which crisscross the country. I had never heard of it, but County Lines is a monolithic domestic drug-running network, mainly heroin and crack cocaine. Lawley shows me a map which shows England covered in a mass of lines so thick I can’t even see an area without a line, which Lawley confirms; “no part of the country is untouched.” This network exploits young people to run from cities to rural towns. With more than 2000 lines running, Lawley points out that there are 30-50 young people involved per line, some even as young as 10 or 11.
With issues such as County Lines a clear threat to the young, the ever-increasing drug presence in England makes charities like Hope UK one of the only barriers between young people and addiction. Universities must learn and work with charities such as Hope UK to create a safe space for drug education, prevention and addiction support. While prevention should start at a younger age, 18-year-olds to 22-year-olds at Universities are the age group most introduced and exposed to drugs, and are almost completely unprotected.
