Substance misuse: Time to be young

Katie comes across just like any other 14-year-old girl. Articulate and confident, you would never guess that she has a troubled family history, filled with discontent. About four years ago, her older brother began to use drugs recreationally. When her mother found out, she became depressed and began drinking heavily every night. Her drinking became so bad that Katie often ended up looking after her younger sister, which left Katie with little time to socialise with friends and led her to become withdrawn. It was a horrible experience, she recalls.Source of supportFortunately for her, the drug rehabilitation agency her brother attended found out about the situation at home and put Katie in contact with Time for Me, a Barnardos-run project based in Cradley Heath, Birmingham, that helps children and young people mainly aged eight to 13. Nearly 80 per cent of the 42 children and young people who attend have a family member who abuses alcohol, while the rest live with people coping with a drug addiction. Ava Williams, project leader at Time for Me, says the young people who attend have to grow up very quickly and deal with matters they shouldnt have to deal with. Many have to look after themselves and act as young carers, possibly looking after mum, dad, or younger brothers or sisters, she says. They miss out so much on what being a young person is all about and thats what we try to give them back a bit of time for them to be a young person, to do some things together.The project meets once a week and also during school holidays. It aims to give those who attend a renewed sense of self-confidence and access to experiences that might ordinarily be out of their reach. As a group, the young people go swimming, bowling and to the cinema and also attend special events such as rock-climbing excursions and trips to London. They also learn more practical life skills such as cooking, needlework and first aid and about safety in the home.Williams says coming together in this way encourages the young people to make friends with others in similar situations to themselves and cope with the challenges they face: It helps them manage school, home life and the problems they have to face every day because they never know what theyre going to go home to. The young people are also given the opportunity to take part in more specialist sessions run by health professionals where they can learn coping techniques, how to deal with their feelings, anger management and about family life.One young person who is currently working with the programme is 14-year-old Becci, whose mother has been battling an alcohol addiction for the past 11 years. When Becci arrived at the programme, she had a hard time talking about her home life. Since she started attending two years ago, she has gradually begun to open up about how she feels about her mums drinking and she now even has the confidence to tell her mum face to face how it makes her feel. The project gives us a chance to talk about things that are going on at home, says Becci. Its good because in time you feel like you can confide in the workers. Its helped me talk more and its nice to know youre not the only one going through a bad situation.Becci now acts as a volunteer for the scheme, helping to mentor younger children who are going through similar experiences to herself. Katie also aspires to become a volunteer and wants to give something back to the programme. Id like to help the little kids and help them understand that Ive gone through situations like them, says Katie.Funding woesDespite the good work on the scheme, its future is uncertain. It has relied on money from the Childrens Fund and local drug action teams but this is due to run out next March. Williams is hopeful that local authorities in the West Midlands will offer to provide the funding to keep it going but this has not been confirmed yet. Part of the reason why its financial future hangs in the balance is because funders want quick results, believes Williams, something that is difficult to achieve with the young people it works with.Weve got young people who have been with us almost from when weve started, she says. I know weve had some questions raised about the length of time that some of the young people are with us, but a lot of the benefits come from working with individuals over a long period it doesnt happen overnight.For Katie, it is essential that the project remains. I dont know what Id do without Time for Me, she says.