MAINLINERS YOUTH HEALTH SERVICE

Mainliners Youth Health Service is a service for young people between the ages of 11-17 who live in Lambeth. We offer a wide range of support options for young people who have issues relating to drugs, sexual health and HIV prevention. Our youth worker offers face-to-face support directly to young people in the borough of Lambeth, but can also offer where possible, support and information over the telephone to young people, parents/carers and professionals.

  • Information and Support
    We offer information and support to young people on a wide range of issues including drugs, sexual health, HIV prevention, selling sex and general health.
  • One-to-one Support
    Once a young person has undergone an initial brief assessment and their needs have been established, our youth worker will work with them on a one-to-one basis to try and respond to their individual needs. We will aim to meet the young person wherever they feel most comfortable, for example this may be in a youth centre or café. The sessions may be one-off or they may take place on a weekly or fortnightly basis, depending on the needs of the young person.
  • Outreach Work
    We often make contact with young people via outreach sessions which take place in various locations within Lambeth. The times and locations vary depending on what's happening in the area. If you'd like to meet us during outreach, you can contact us on the number below.
  • Free Needle Exchange and Condoms
    We can provide, where appropriate (following a full assessment), free sterile works for injecting and safer injecting information. We also provide free condoms and sexual health information.
  • Support for Parents and Carers
    Our youth worker can provide support and information to parents/carers and friends of young people who are using or may be using drugs. We will aim to put people in touch with local support groups if they live outside of Lambeth.
  • Training and Workshops
    We can provide a range of tailor-made educational workshops for both groups of young people and professionals. Common workshops topics are drugs awareness and sexual health, both of which come from a harm minimisation perspective. In addition, our youth worker co-runs the 'Drugs and Young People' course which is part of Mainliners national training programme.
  • Appropriate Referrals
    We have good links with a range of other youth agencies in Lambeth so if a young person has additional support needs, our youth worker can refer them on to the appropriate service, whilst still maintaining contact.
  • A Friendly, Confidential and Non-judgemental Service
    Anyone accessing the project can expect a friendly service which is non-judgemental and confidential (within the boundaries of Child Protection). Our confidentiality policy is explained during the first contact with a young person and is available in written format.
  • 'Girl Time'
    This is a project that we run jointly with Safe Space. We provide information and support for young women (under 18) on issues affecting them, in particular, healthy relationships and sexual health.

CONTACT DETAILS:
Our youth worker can be contacted during office hours at Mainliners on: 020 7582 3338 or on the Youth Services mobile: 07903 162621.
We accept both self-referrals and agency referrals, either by telephone or via our referral form (which you can request from either of the above numbers).