Helping young people understand the dangers of drugs

The dangers drugs can cause our children is a subject close to many people’s hearts but one initiative in Sefton, Merseyside, has begun to address that.

Children at three primary schools in the New Heartlands Housing Market Renewal area of Seaforth and Waterloo have been taking part in a drama workshop designed to teach them about the devastating effects drugs can have in life. The youngsters in years five and six at Our Lady Star of the Sea, Rimrose Hope and Waterloo Primary Schools took part in the ‘Eyes Open’ project funded by Maritime and Crosby Housing Associations through the Housing Market Renewal Initiative and delivered by the Altru Drama Company.

The actors gave a performance for pupils showing how drugs could affect them and followed it with a workshop where the children worked with the actors discussing the themes which the show had evoked. The idea of the project is to enable young people to understand the physical and psychological effects of drug use, the causes of it along with peer pressure and addiction.

Drugs and substance misuse has been identified as a priority issue for both Seaforth and Waterloo and let’s hope this project will help raise awareness of drug use amongst young people.