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.
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.
“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.” – Former YHSMS Client
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.
“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
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 yrs 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.
