London Mayor to invest £7.8M to support young people affected by violence

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced on Friday, October 7, that his Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) and the City Hall are investing a further £7.8M (€8.87M) 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.

Hospital 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 workers based in A&E departments provide 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 the 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 have been secured to provide opportunities for youth workers to speak confidentially to young people, and provide the support and guidance they need.

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