Learn early how to save people’s lives

Many readers will be familiar with St John Ambulance, but surprisingly few are aware of the youth programme work of the health response and first aid charity.

St John runs five youth programmes for five-25 year-olds to support and teach first aid and lifesaving skills and last year marked the 100th anniversary of St John’s support for young people.

If your son, daughter, grandchild, or their best friend was stabbed or attacked in the street – would you know what to do?

If their drink was spiked, or they’d had too much to drink, and had collapsed, having the skills to step in during those vital seconds makes all the difference – it saves lives.

This month, thanks to £1million made possible by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, St John launches Young Responders, a new programme reaching out to secondary schoolchildren and young adults up to 25 in targeted areas of London.

Co-created by young people for young people, Young Responders teaches great lifesaving skills in bite size, hands-on easy to understand sessions.

Training includes how to treat street violence injuries from assault, stabbing and glassing, to knowing how to handle alcohol and drug abuse, spiking, as well as gaining awareness and resilience training in mental health.

Delivered initially through schools, the health and first aid charity hopes the Young Responders programme will reach a new audience and is targeting young people at risk of street crime, young carers, cared for young people and those not in education, training or employment.

Benefits go beyond great first aid know-how, and include improved confidence and leadership skills plus it’s a great addition to a CV.

The ambition is for Young Responders to develop strong partnerships with existing street crime and support organisations already working with the target audience in key areas in London and by the end of 2023 train 15,000 young people in lifesaving first aid.

Find out more about Young Responders by visiting Young Responders | St John Ambulance (sja.org.uk)

Paul Evans, Director of Youth and Education,
St John Ambulance, by email

Picture: Pixabay/stocksnap