A&E Work
Our Youth Violence Intervention Programme operates in hospital emergency departments. Our innovative service reduces serious youth violence, and has revolutionised the support available to young victims of violence.
Our Young Women's Service is embedded within our Youth Violence Intervention Programme and provides tailored support for young women affected by Child Sexual Exploitation, emotional or physical harm.
A&E Work
Our Youth Violence Intervention Programme runs in hospital emergency departments in partnership with the major trauma network. There, our innovative service aims to reduce serious youth violence and has revolutionised the support available to young people affected by violence.
Our Young Women’s Service is embedded within our Youth Violence Intervention Programme but provides longer-term support in the lives of young women affected by sexual exploitation. Our young women’s workers work alongside our youth workers at St George’s Hospital, King’s College Hospital, St Mary’s Hospital and Homerton University Hospital.
Every year thousands of young people aged 11 – 25 come through hospital doors as victims of assault and exploitation. It is then, at this time of crisis, that our youth workers and young women’s workers utilise their unique position embedded in the emergency departments alongside clinical staff to engage these young people.
Our extensive experience tells us that this moment of vulnerability, when young people are out of their comfort zone, alienated from their peers, and often coming to terms with the effects of injury, is a time of change – we call it the ‘Teachable Moment’. In this moment many are more able than ever to question what behaviour and choices have led them to this hospital bed and, with specialist youth worker support, pursue change they haven’t felt able to before.
We focus on this moment and encourage and support young people in making healthy choices and positive plans to disrupt the cruel cycle of violence that can too easily lead to re-attendance, re-injury, and devastated communities.
Young Women's Service
Our Young Women's Service (YWS) provides long-term support for girls and young women (aged 11-25) impacted or at risk of serious youth violence and criminal or sexual exploitation.
Young Women's Service
In the last few years, we have seen increases in girls and young women being referred to the Young Womens’ Service, yet there are very few tailored services for girls and young women that are suitable for the complexity of the problems they face. The YWS supports girls and young women who come into hospital as a result of serious violence or exploitation and provides longer-term support.
Our young women’s workers work alongside our youth workers at St George’s Hospital, King’s College Hospital, St Mary’s Hospital and Homerton University Hospital.
The London Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), has enabled us to build on this work by embedding our work into daily practice across the organisation, supporting colleagues with complex cases and delivering training to clinical colleagues to ensure that signs of exploitation are spotted, and appropriate referrals made. We have also had support from Comic Relief.
KAOS and other health-based youth work
Outside of our Youth Violence Intervention Programme we address other chronic conditions in partnership with other health-based youth work. These services continue to use health settings as key anchor institutions to engage with young people impacted by longer-term/chronic/life-altering health conditions. Specialist Redthread youth workers use a key teachable moment to support young people and provide a friendly, compassionate and trustworthy presence in a setting that can be isolating. Take a look at our KAOS, Social Prescribing and Diabetes service models.
KAOS and other health-based youth work
On any day, across King’s College Hospital, around 20 adult beds are occupied by young people aged 16 to 25. These young people have specific medical, emotional, legal and social needs. The KAOS team will help support the medical and surgical teams on adult wards to care for young people in an age appropriate way.
The KAOS service started in 2018 and was initially comprised of a core team of two lead clinicians and a youth worker. The core team draw on the expertise of a wider team of over thirty health care professionals from different backgrounds, all with an interest in optimising care for young people. These include trauma surgeons, doctors with an expertise in children/adolescents, women’s health doctors, specialist nurses, sexual health professionals and other medical specialists. Since its launch in 2018 the service has grown to facilitate support for a wider age range with the addition of a further youth worker.
HIVE
The Hospital-based Interrupting Violence Exchange is a national network, founded and coordinated by Redthread.
HIVE
The Hospital-based Interrupting Violence Exchange is a national network, founded and coordinated by Redthread. It is designed to help existing and emerging hospital-based violence intervention programmes share ideas and insights.
Through HIVE, we have hosted teleconferences for practitioners from different projects and different parts of the UK to talk through the opportunities and challenges posed by the unique model. We also hold conferences, where all those working on the model get together to discuss the latest developments.
If you would like to learn more about HIVE, please get in touch!
