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 collapsed, having the skills to step in during those vital seconds makes all the difference – it saves lives.
St John Ambulance runs five youth programmes for five- to 25-year-olds to support and teach first aid and lifesaving skills.
This month, thanks to £1million made possible by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, St John launches Young Responders, a programme reaching out to secondary school children and young adults across London, including Croydon.
Young Responders teaches great lifesaving skills in 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.

Young responders: St John’s new courses teach lifesaving skills
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, to increase impact in communities and, by the end of 2023, train 15,000 young people in lifesaving first aid.
Find out more about Young Responders by clicking here.
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