10 March 2023

“We see a lot of young people who are experiencing difficulties with county lines so it’s important to be aware of the risks. In the UK, 27,000 young people are involved in county lines and there are 4,000 teenagers in London alone.”

For this event, the team from CNWL’s Addictions Recovery Community Hillingdon (ARCH) talked about the signs to look out for if a child or young person has joined a gang, or is being criminally exploited.

Henry McDermott (Young People Practitioner) and Zehra Emin (Nurse Team Lead) also spoke about engagement methods and the things you can do to help young people from getting involved, or help them once they've joined.

“It’s a daunting experience for a lot of the young people when they first come in. Unfortunately, there is a lot of trauma that has happened in the past and illegal substances are being used, so it’s about reassuring them that information they provide will be handled with care and won’t jeopardise their wellbeing,” said Henry.

“It’s very important to go through this with a non-judgemental perspective, and to use language that makes the young person feel comfortable. We sometimes use emotion wheels where they don’t have to use words to say how they are feeling.”

Zehra said: “Things come out as you find the common footing. Using things like hobbies, finding out what they enjoy. Focusing on things they might be enjoying at school, or with friends and family in important so we have an element that can keep young people coming back to services.”

Henry and Zehra shared examples of the service users they have worked with, including a vulnerable young person who was targeted by the gang The Late Night Crew.

To contact ARCH, visit this service page.

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