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I told all 700 students with certainty that if I had continued my down my original path I would have been taught by StreetDoctors!

Article featured in ‘The Guardian’ as part of the Beyond the Blade series.

I know that when recruitment comes again in September, I will be encouraging potential volunteers who seem “just a little bit curious” to come to and see what StreetDoctors is all about.

StreetDoctors is about working as a team to give power to young people to change their actions. It’s about giving them the confidence to save lives.

I learn as much from the stories, courage and comradery of the young people we train in the StreetDoctors sessions as they learn from us volunteers.

It was at my first ever StreetDoctors session I was asked: “So where is it actually safe to stab someone?” From that point onwards, it was clear to me how important the charity is.

Video highlights of a StreetDoctors session with the Premier League Kicks Scheme.

Youth violence and gun crime seemed to be the norm for these young people … That is when we, realised: these were the young people who needed StreetDoctors teaching the most.

When I found out about StreetDoctors, it wasn’t just an opportunity to give back. I saw a lot of myself in the young people and my past in them, so I felt like I could easily relate to them and help them.

At the end of every session I am usually speechless with admiration for the young people and amazed by what they go through on a daily basis.

As I watched the volunteers not only learn how to teach sessions, but also shape the organisation through their discussions about communications, safeguarding and the prevalence of youth violence, I started to see how StreetDoctors is able to achieve so much.

This is a video we made in 2012, telling the story of what StreetDoctors does and why young people come back to our teaching.