You are Here : Home › Children & Young People › Substance Abuse › What do we know? › Local Views

There are a range of methods used to involve young people, parents and carers in developing services, ranging from focus groups, questionnaires, agenda days and secret ballots.  The main issues highlighted are:

• Drinking and drug use in children and young people was seen as a problem
• For those not receiving help the main issue was not that their child/young person was not getting help but that the family or carer was not getting any help or support. That there was little involvement of families in the child/young persons drug treatment so parents and carers did not know or understand what was happening to their child.
• The fear of involving social services was also raised, as well as people feeling embarrassed or not knowing where to go or who to ask for help. 
• Drug and alcohol education should be improved, should start from a younger age and role play and drama groups should be used as a method of raising awareness.
• Young people should be involved in designing leaflets and more information of the effects of taking drugs and alcohol later in life should be used
• Services should be near the monument, in a hidden place, needs to be well advertised

It is a priority to continue working alongside Investing in Children and the Youth Engagement Strategy, so that young people can be involved in the development and regular reviewing of all aspects of service provision. Building on the work of a number of young people's groups which have discussed issues around drugs and alcohol over the last 3 years, it is now timely to establish a more formal forum for listening to and acting on the views of young service users.