StreetDoctors delivers practical and interactive skills-based training sessions which give young people the confidence and practice to act in a real medical emergency.

In each session, healthcare volunteers work with a group of 5–15 young people. After working
with the VRU on several partnership projects, StreetDoctors were commissioned to pilot
the Stepwise programme at HMP Hindley.

All work is trauma informed and complies with safeguarding best practice.

StreetDoctors works because;

• It exclusively focuses on young people affected by violence, who are most likely to be on the scene of a medical emergency resulting from youth violence.
• Peer-to-peer training by student doctors, nurses and paramedics engages and inspires young people.
• Skills-based intervention is proven to be effective in preventing youth offending.
• Asset-based model focuses on what is right with young people, not ‘what is wrong’ with them; so young people become part of the solution to violence, not just ‘part of the problem’.
• Trauma-informed approach safeguards those young people who might be triggered, traumatized or retraumatized in our sessions.
• Partner toolkit provided to all partners to help them support young people pre-, during and post-delivery.
• Impact data is evaluated independently and has been awarded a Nesta level 2 standard of evidence and Project Oracle standard 2.
• Award-winning team has won 9 youth sector and charity awards.

After young people have attended StreetDoctors sessions, 95% know what to do if someone is bleeding or unconscious, 93% understand the medical consequences of violence and 85% would be willing to act in a medical emergency.

The VRU have worked with StreetDoctors to deliver the StepWise programme – a six-week youth engagement and education programme that enables young people affected by violence to learn, share, and teach emergency lifesaving skills and find out more about healthcare careers from inspiring role models.

Watch this short clip to hear one young person’s thoughts on the programme: