National Care Leavers Week - Preventing Drug and Alcohol Misuse

Throughout National Care Leavers Week, we'll be shedding some light on how we support our young people to lead independent lives. Today, read about the important work carried out by Ricardo Costa, Drug and Alcohol Worker.

St Christopher's colleague and young person working together

Ricardo Costa joined St Christopher's Fellowship in September 2013 thanks to generous grants from Comic Relief and the Pilgrim Trust. His work with us has two functions: preventative and supportive.

Throughout all of our services, Ricardo organises educational workshops, providing information about drug and alcohol misuse so our young people can make informed decisions. These workshops cover topics such as preventing relapse and talking about anti-social behaviour.

It's also great that young people attending these workshops get the chance to achieve an AQA qualification, helping them gain new life skills for the future. You can find out more about this on our website.

Aside from preventative work, Ricardo also works closely with young people struggling with drug and alcohol issues. By providing a safe space in which to talk about their experiences and needs, our young people really trust Ricardo and work with him on reducing/giving up drugs and alcohol and preventing relapses in the future.

Throughout the past year, Ricardo has had a massive impact on the lives of our young people and there are more plans in the pipeline, including further training for colleagues in our services and for foster carers to help them support our young people.