The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today announced that his Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) and City Hall are investing a further £7.8 million* to build on a programme that embeds youth

workers in hospital emergency departments to support young people affected by violence.

Specialist frontline youth workers, based in hospitals, work alongside clinicians in Accident and Emergency departments and Major Trauma Centres to offer support, guidance and a route away from violence for young people. 

New funding from City Hall will mean that youth workers will continue to be embedded in eight A&E hospitals and four Major Trauma Centres. Ho spital locations are determined by the levels of young victims of violence in the surrounding area.  

The investment will also enable specialist youth workers to support young victims of domestic abuse and domestic violence in the four Major Trauma Centres.

It comes as initial data shows that over the last two years, nearly 800 young people have engaged and worked with youth workers based in A&Es, supporting them away from violence and helping with mental health support, access to education and housing, as well as training and employment opportunities.

Youth work provision, which is carried out by Redthread, St Giles Trust and Oasis, was delivered during the pandemic and engagement has stepped up in the last year with practitioners’ increased presence in hospitals.

Initial data reveals that between April 2020 and March 2022, support from youth workers:

• Helped young people to feel safe because they have a trusted adult relationship that they can rely on.
• Showed that for those that engaged with youth workers, exposure and involvement in violence reduced.

Youth workers based in A&E departments provides an opportunity to intervene in a young person’s life much earlier. Known as the ‘reachable moment’ skilled youth workers engage with young people when they arrive at hospital with injuries – the time when they are most receptive to changing their behaviour.

Clinical leads in hospitals across the capital have worked hard to develop the programme and dedicated spaces in A&E has been secured to provide opportunities for youth workers to speak confidentially to young people, and provide the support and guidance they need.

The security of new funding from the VRU and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime means youth workers will be able to further develop those relationships in hospitals and work in partnership to support more young people over the next three years. 

The programme continues the VRU’s focus on championing and investing in youth work in London. It joins the ENGAGE and DIVERT programmes which embeds specialist frontline practitioners in police custody suites to help support young people aged 10-17 and 18-25 away from violence. Alongside this, the VRU funds a leadership programme to upskill youth workers, and has now set up a team of 10 frontline practitioners to advise and further embed youth work in programmes to reduce violence.

The Mayor today visited King’s College Hospital to meet with hospital A&E staff and youth workers from Redthread to hear first-hand about the impact of the partnership work they are doing to help and support young people.

He was joined by Martin Griffiths, a consultant trauma and vascular clinician and national clinical director for violence reduction for NHS England, to champion the joint work between City Hall and the NHS to tackle violence through prevention and early intervention.

Redthread’s programme at King’s began in 2005 and was the first time youth workers were based in a hospital in the UK.  

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:

“I am committed to tackling violence and building a safer city for all Londoners.

“My approach of being tough on violence through the hard work of our police and tough on the complex causes of violence, is showing signs of progress. Overall, crime continues to fall in London, bucking the national trend, with knife crime with injury for under 25s and gun crime both down. However, it’s clear more needs to be done in partnership to continue making progress.

“Partnership work from prevention to enforcement is vital to tackling violence and the work my VRU does alongside the NHS and its violence reduction programme is a fantastic example of working together to identify opportunities to intervene early to divert young people and help them access positive life opportunities.”

Lib Peck, Director of London’s Violence Reduction Unit, said:

“We firmly believe that violence is preventable, not inevitable.

“That outcome is based on partnership and is the foundation of the work we do alongside the NHS to tackle violence through prevention and early intervention.

“The VRU is a champion of youth work in our city and the invaluable role they play in a young person’s life. I’m looking forward to building on the progress made with new investment to back up our fantastic youth workers so they can continue making life-changing interventions.” 

Martin Griffiths, Consultant Trauma and Vascular Surgeon at Barts Health NHS Trust and National Clinical Director for Violence Reduction (NHS England), said:

“The commitment of both the VRU and the Mayor's Office to supporting the success of embedded youth workers in Emergency Departments is testimony to the impact these programmes have had in changing the lives of those affected by violence.

“The additional funding guarantees that specialist support is delivered in sync with the expert medical care that our dedicated NHS clinical teams provide and ensures the best outcomes for young people affected by interpersonal injury.

“This is a fantastic example of partnership working between the NHS, the VRU and the Mayor's office, demonstrating the impact of the public health approach to violence reduction.”

Tracey Burley, Chief Executive, Redthread, said:

“As a charity, we welcome the VRU and Mayor’s office investment of more funding towards embedding youth workers in emergency departments. We work in close partnership with hospitals, health care professionals and other appropriate stakeholders to help put a stop to cycles of violence. Our youth workers work directly within A&E Departments and Major Trauma Centres, meeting with young people affected by violence to provide holistic, bespoke intervention to meet whatever their needs may be, which could include, for example, support for their wellbeing and safety whilst in hospital, help for them to access mental health services or to navigate the criminal justice system if applicable, as circumstances will be unique to each individual youth.

“We find that teachable moments come when young people are reachable in the hospital environment, as the unique setting presents the opportunity to support young people to become experts of their own lives. This new investment in reaching young people at this pivotal moment will make a vital difference to these young people, their families and their communities.”

Cham Harrak, a youth worker at Redthread, said:

“We work directly within A&E and Major Trauma wards, meeting with victims of violence to provide holistic, bespoke interventions to support them through complex and vulnerable moments to make a positive difference.

“It's essential for our team to have close relationships with the clinical teams to help the young people navigate what is a traumatic experience. We ensure we are advocating for the young person to access the best support and amplify their voice.”  Photo by Krzysztof P. Jasiutowicz (Kpjas), Wikimedia commons.