Help Train Young Life Savers This June with StreetDoctors

StreetDoctors is a national charity of healthcare volunteers, training young people how to save the life of someone who has been stabbed or knocked out in a street attack. This June, StreetDoctors are participating in the My Favourite Voucher Codes charity poll, hoping to win 20% of our profits! Find out more about their incredible work below and see how you can support life saving training by voting for StreetDoctors

What Does StreetDoctors Do?

Using emergency first aid, the StreetDoctors programme empowers young people to become lifesavers in their communities. Every young person that becomes a ‘street doctor’ learns about the medical and psychological impacts of violence, how to assess the scene of an attack and work with emergency services, and how to provide first aid to someone who has been injured.

The programme operates in 20 cities across the UK, working in schools, sports clubs, and criminal justice settings to reach young people affected by street violence.

Why Is StreetDoctors Needed?

Street violence among young people has devastating impacts on communities, but knowing what to do in an emergency can be the difference between life and death. For young people, becoming a ‘street doctor’ shows their commitment to being part of the solution, improving their knowledge, skills, and confidence in the process.

As the Youth Justice Lead for Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership put it, “The educational message helps to debunk myths some young people have about knife and weapon injuries, and also provides young people with practical skills about what to do if they find themselves in an emergency”.  

9,000 Lifesavers Trained and the StepWise Programme

Each year StreetDoctors trains 9,000 young people to become lifesavers, growing a movement of young people committed to saving lives and making their communities safer. As part of this mission, young people also have the opportunity to become qualified first aid trainers themselves through the ‘StepWise’ programme. StepWise trains young people in leadership and social action, providing a first aid certification and training in how to deliver StreetDoctors sessions in the local community.

As one young man put it: “Yeah it’s given me self confidence. After this if I see someone on the road needing help, I could apply everything I’ve learned towards them and help them. I’ve taught my little brother, I’ve taught my mum as well”

Wat Impact has StreetDoctors Had?

The StreetDoctors training programme uses the same approach used by the NHS to train new doctors in managing a stab wound or an unconscious person without specialist equipment. The approach is proven to work, and the results over the last 12 months speak for themselves:

• 66% of the young people we worked with highlighted they were actively worried about street violence in their area.
• 80% of young people they would recommend our training to their friends.
• 74% of the young people demonstrated they had increased knowledge & skills.
• 71 % had increased confidence to act in an emergency situation using first aid skills.

The success of the StreetDoctors model is thanks in no small part to 300 incredible healthcare volunteers who give their time and skills to train others to save lives. Organised into 23 teams across the UK, volunteers go out into schools, sports clubs, youth clubs and prisons to work with young people most at risk of exposure to street violence alongside our experienced youth workers.  Thanks to the amazing volunteers, StreetDoctors is able to reach far more young people across the country, meaning each pound raised goes even further in providing lifesaving training in the areas that need it most.

What is the Goal of StreetDoctors?

The aim for 2024 is to train 10,000 young people as street doctors, growing the movement of young people willing and able to step forward in an emergency and make a difference.

“Thank you for today, you’ve really inspired me, because of what happened to my dad. You’ve inspired me to save lives… like you were saying about being able to teach other people this stuff, I want to do that”

If you feel inspired to vote for the amazing StreetDoctors this June, then make sure to cast your vote on our Homepage.