Advice

Young Hackney Substance Misuse Service

The Young Hackney Substance Misuse Service is open to anyone aged under 25. It’s free and completely confidential. We can give you advice and support if you’re worried about your own substance use, or if you’re worried that a friend or family member has a problem with drugs or alcohol.

If you, a friend or a family member is thinking of quitting or cutting down we would like to help.

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We aim to give you the facts about drugs and alcohol – the highs as well as the lows, which means you can make your own choices.

Stopping smoking

A new City and Hackney Stop Smoking Service will begin in July 2024. Meanwhile, if you know of a young person who smokes and is ready to quit and would benefit from some advice or support, please contact us. We can provide young smokers (ages 12-18) support to quit smoking. This will come as brief advice and signposting to the interim Children and Young People’s Stop Smoking Service.

You can refer, or the young person can self-refer by calling the confidential advice and referral line Monday – Friday, 9am – 9pm, 020 8356 7377 or by emailing yhsms@hackney.gov.uk.

Offer of One-to-One Support and Treatment

We offer non-judgmental support and treatment for those who feel that their drug and/or alcohol use has become unmanageable.

It is our aim to prevent young people using drugs, delay drug use among young people and offer harm reduction advice and strategies where appropriate by offering facts about drugs and alcohol use – the highs as well as the lows, which means you can make your own choices.

Dealing Intervention

We educate young people about their rights as well as help them to understand modern day slavery and prevention from criminal exploitation. We raise awareness around the pitfalls of getting involved with drug deals, as you might be spending a lot of your life behind bars if you decide to pursue a career dealing drugs. We can help you to see if the rewards of dealing are really worth it.

Parental Substance Misuse – Hidden Harm

If your parent, step-parent, grandparent, carer or anyone else important to you has a drink and or drug problem, it can affect you, even if you are not living in the same house, or they are no longer drinking or using drugs. A child of a substance user can be aged 1 or 101 – it doesn’t change the fact that your parent is (or has been) dependent on alcohol or drugs, along with the problems this brings.

Alcoholism is an illness and can affect people of all ages and from all walks of life. People with an alcohol problem have lost control over their drinking and usually need help to stop. There is help, but as hard as it is for those around them, only the person drinking can make the decision to accept help. However, there is support for YOU if you are affected by someone else who may be misusing alcohol and/or drugs.

Presenting Coexisting Issues

In assessing the impact of the pandemic on young people, research by the Children’s Commissioner found that 1 in 6 children aged between 5 – 16 were identified as having a probable mental health disorder, an increase from 1 in 9. Whilst the number of referrals to NHS mental health treatment services has increased, the number of young people receiving treatment has not, highlighting a serious lack of capacity in young people’s mental health services, predating the pandemic.

We are happy to work with young people who have a coexisting substance misuse and mental health issue alongside mental health professionals.

Prevention School and Professional Workshops

We are proud to collaborate with Early Help services and schools within the London Borough of Hackney and the City of London to offer training and learning for young people and students of various ages and backgrounds, as well as raise awareness among professionals who work with young people.
If you are interested in a workshop at a school, please tell a teacher to request a training workshop.

Services for over 18s

The Orbit

The Orbit is a therapeutic stay and play/crèche with group and key worker engagement with multiple services available to access on-site. It is open to pregnant women and parents of preschool aged children who have difficulties with substances.
It’s a resource that enables early intervention and access to services that is often inaccessible.

18 – 25 year olds, Community & Night Time Economy

Although YHSMS primarily works with those under 18, we also work and engage with young adults who are between 18 – 25 years of age and offer guidance and support when trying to work out whether a young people’s service or an adult service might be the best fit for your needs.

Testimonials

Former YHSMS clients

“I enjoyed working with YHSMS and their support has helped me rethink my weed use and build up my abilities to stop using any drugs.”
“Just knowing that there was someone there to speak to about it and I wouldn’t be ashamed, just speaking to you lot made me fully think why cut down to one spliff a year, when I can literally just stop it.”
“We could speak freely – it was free, it was funny. We spoke about popcorn lung and how vaping could affect your body. And learning about the different types of vapes.”
“It was fun, it was funny. I learned new stuff I didn’t learn before.”
“Speaking to you made me make a better choice.”
“I have really enjoyed working with YHSMS who really showed me a great deal of patience, especially when we first started when I was a lot more anxious and uncertain about what the work would involve.”
“YHSMS took a lot of interest in not just me but my family members… I feel I worked so hard with the guidance and support they offered and even though it was never easy, it made sense and made a difference to not only my health but my ability to make proper choices about my life. I’m more ready to think about the future and have already applied to college and an employment agency.
“Thanks for your patience and belief in me, even when I didn’t see it myself!”
“It taught me how I can rely on my own judgment and make choices which give me authority over my life and that makes me stronger. I have my health, I’m clear in my thinking and feel fitter without any drugs at all!”
“I didn’t like those conversations but YHSMS encouraged me to think about the reasons BEHIND my cannabis use and that led to so much strength in me!”
“It was just so hard, but really, really worth it, I think…”
“Seriously, YHSMS has been so great, I never knew I could actually do this kind of work and I’m really proud of myself for looking for help and carrying on!”
“I’ve gotten some good tips”
“I liked getting out. I felt like we had a good connection”
“Because the YHSMS staff member was also a Black woman I could relate to you more”
“Good information. I learned a lot about drugs and why NOT to sell them”
“It has helped me become more educated in terms of usage of THC and what THC actually is. Schools should teach what you are doing; there is no education on what it actually is and what it can do to you, even with everyone using it in the school.”
“I quite liked it. I enjoyed actually having someone to talk to about drugs and not feeling judged or feeling any type of way.”
“”It is good to talk and secrets are stressful”.
“YHSMS helped me to to talk about my my worries about my dad’s drug use”
“I’m so grateful for the help and support you gave me in one of the most difficult stages of my life. It’s crazy how the world works because I am now a youth worker myself. I work at an organisation where we provide 1-1 mentoring to young people. Thank you once again, you inspired me.”

Parents

“…thanks for this message, it’s hugely appreciated. It was hard to hear what my child was saying even though I had an idea of what was coming but I’m extremely glad we did it and he got the chance to talk to me directly. Thank you for making it happen, but more importantly for everything you’ve done for him. It’s made such an enormous difference to his life and I hope we can keep building on that. I know he’ll want to keep in touch too. Best wishes, Dad”
“…thanks so much for your message and for all your time and advice to my child. It’s made such a difference and he is very positive going forward. I trust and hope he’s turned a corner. But it is good to have you in his corner if he might need any more sessions – that’s very reassuring. I wish you all the best too, kind regards, Mum”

Professionals

“Thank you so much for the presentation. It was great! It was really impactful even in an hour and I have had positive feedback. Thank you for everything that you do with such vulnerable young people. We definitely need more of you across London.” – NHS nurse
“Just to say thank you for helping us understand hidden harm yesterday. It was very helpful having your insight and experience, helping us understand the impact as well as being really proactive with mum and helping her start to invest in the plan, linking her in with adult services and hearing our concerns about the lack of progress.” – Social worker
“Please accept my belated but HUGE thanks for your absolutely brilliant training session on Wednesday. The team thought it was excellent, as did I. Really informative and invaluable. We’re all still talking about it. You are a fantastic trainer!” – School staff
“Thank you for the session – the students really enjoyed it! The staff have also said great things about it and enjoyed having an external speaker. They said it was informative and engaging. We will be more than happy to continue more work together” – School staff
“The y/p received cannabis education and cannabis reduction tools and techniques. When asked whether the y/p thought working with us helped, the answer was. I found the service very helpful and Corey provided a lot of support for me. I enjoyed learning how to manage cravings and support to reduce. I enjoyed everything, I had nothing bad to say.” – Staff member