StreetDoctors partners with the UK Commonwealth and Foreign office to deliver training to young people in Anguilla in an effort to combat youth violence.
September 2024 saw national charity, StreetDoctors, deliver training overseas thanks to a partnership with the UK Health Security Agency under the UK Commonwealth and Foreign Office.
The StreetDoctors team traveled to Anguilla; a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to support efforts with the local Government to combat youth violence using a public health approach.
StreetDoctors was chosen to deliver this project due to its proven record of success in delivering award-winning training to over 10,000 young people annually in both the physical and psychological effects of violence.
StreetDoctors believes young people are part of the solution to violence and aims to empower young people to keep themselves and others safe.
The ten-day international project saw StreetDoctors successfully train 19 young people through its StepWise programme. The programme teaches young people hands-on first-aid, the skills to save a life, and the knowledge and confidence to co-facilitate training to other young people.
By the end of the project, participants had increased their knowledge in emergency first aid by 125.3%, confidence in delivering emergency first aid by 200.6% and willingness to help in an emergency by 98.6%.
Thursday 3rd October saw the first Certificate and Recognition Ceremony to celebrate the hard work of the young participants who completed the StepWise programme; marking a significant achievement in Anguilla’s fight against youth violence.
The event, chaired by Mrs. Jemima Romney, Centre Manager of the Blowing Point youth Development Centre, and was attended by the Honorary Parliamentary Secretary, Merrick Richdardson, Dr Aisha Andrewin the Chief Medical Officer and Hyacinth Bradley the Community Services Planner.
Following the event, the graduated cohort went on to deliver training to other local young people. This encouraged conversations around the overall community needs in Anguilla and the psychological needs of young people affected by the violence that occurs.
CEO of StreetDoctors, Martin Tilbury, said: “The project aimed to train a group of young people with lived experience of youth violence to co-design and deliver a violence reduction programme tailored to the community needs in Anguilla. We’ve had some great concrete outcomes in terms of young people’s development in skills, knowledge, and overall understanding of the local needs within their communities. It has been amazing to see young people taking ownership and becoming leaders; putting young people at the forefront of the solution to violence.
“This new Young Leaders project will be further rolled out in the UK in 2025 and is a step up from our current StepWise programme, which will see young people identify the needs of their communities and advocating for change through a public health approach”.
Her Excellency The Governor, Anguilla Julia Crouch OBE: “It has been a key priority for everyone involved in tackling violence to gain a better
understanding of why young people are drawn into gangs and find strategies to enable them to make better choices and a positive impact in their community. The fact that your programme empowers young Anguillian’s to make that change is very powerful.”
Whilst in Anguilla, the StreetDoctors team met with many of the islands leaders, including the Premier of Anguilla Dr. Ellis L. Webster, Her Excellency The Governor, Anguilla Julia Crouch OBE, Minister of Home Affairs Kenneth M Hodge and Permanent Secretary – Social Development, Education, Youth & Culture, Sports Bonnie Richardson- Lake.
The team also featured on the national radio station.