Getting it together

Teenagers are far more likely to be influenced by each other than they are by adults - which is often implicated in the spread of unhealthy drug and alcohol cultures.  Now the Western Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland is using peer education as a grapevine for positive mental health messaging.

Although I play in a band and I'm used to an audience, I was way out of my comfort zone and learnt so much. This has helped build my confidence.

Young trainer

Derry, where the project takes place, is incredibly friendly and surrounded by beautiful scenery, but parts of it are also a shrine to the events of Bloody Sunday.  Many young people have family with post-traumatic stress disorder from the Troubles, or have seen violence themselves.  There are the more familiar problems of drugs, alcohol, teenage pregnancy and chaotic families.

The Getting it together programme was created in 2003 by young people with help from the WHSCT.  Each course lasts for weeks and gives people the chance to get to know and trust each other.  Users will gather with a particular issue in common - perhaps they are young fathers, or have been involved with the police, or suffer depression.  They are asked to discuss a series of difficult scenarios e.g. 'James is gay, but is terrified what everyone would say if they  found out'.  A young person who has already been through the programme will lead the sessions, but a youth worker sits in the background to observe and intervene if necessary. 

At first, users will tend to discuss a problem in very cautious terms, often repeating what they think the group organisers want to hear.  But as the sessions progress and users become more relaxed, real reactions and real solutions emerge.  The conversation expands to discuss everything from bullying to pregnancy, depression and drugs.

Once someone's gone through the project, they have the opportunity to learn to be a trainer themselves.  So it's cascaded through people who know what they are talking about, not 'do-gooders' who have only remote experience of the issues discussed.  The result is that trainers get the respect of their peers.  It also means that the work is naturally self-sustaining.  

Many health projects are dominated by women, who seem to find it easier to ask for and receive help.  Getting it together has also been able to tap into harder-to-reach groups such as young men.  

Marie Dunne who leads the project for the Health Promotion Department says 'we've tried lots of different approaches over the years but this is the one that really reaches this age group and really seems to work.  We're very proud of what we've discovered here.'