1. Robin Pollard
robin@youthrise.org
Operations Coordinator
Youth RISE

2. Who are Youth RISE?
 “Youth RISE is a youth led network promoting
evidence based drug policies and harm
reduction strategies with the involvement of
young people who use drugs and are affected
by drug policies.”
 International Working Group
 Global, diverse membership

3. Our work
 Promote evidence based harm reduction interventions for young
people who use drugs.
 Capacity building.
 Peer education training.
 Advocacy on the ineffectiveness of current drug policies on young
people.
 Mobilise, engage, and facilitate youth involvement in the drug
policy reform and harm reduction advocacy.
 Increase evidence to support advocacy and inform an effective
response .

5. The need for youth harm reduction
 More likely to engage in high risk drug-using behaviour
 Earlier, riskier sexual behaviour , unprotected sex, STD’s
multiple partners
 Lack of knowledge of HIV, HEP C
 Lack knowledge of harm reduction, safer injecting
practices
 Poly-drug use
 Socio-economic exclusion (unemployment/lack of
education)
 Early initiation can lead to developmental problems
 Stigma and alienation from services

6. Barriers to services
 Age restrictions.
 Confidentiality/parental consent.
 Lack of youth friendly services: Harm reduction
services do not cater to young people’s specific needs
and situations.
 Untrained services providers.
 Unclear laws also result in hesitation among service
providers to provide young people with harm reduction
services and support.
 Punitive drug laws.

7. Our approach to supporting the
development of youth friendly harm
reduction
 Context ! Youth RISE engages young people from
around the world to advocate in their own country.
 Capacity! Support other youth org’s through grant
writing, organisation
development, capacity, funding for projects.
 Research! Understand the local drug scene and
keep up with the changes that take place.

8. Effective youth harm reduction services
 Young people are not a homogenized group.
 Culturally sensitive, and always adapted to the group of young
people they are serving as well as to the community.
 Address multiple health and behavioural problems.
 Health advice, showers, sexual health info, basic
counseling, HIV, HEP C STI’s.
 Ensure youth are involved in the service design, implementation
and evaluation.
 Include programs such as skills training, vocational training or
simply fun activities.

9. Drug policy reform = HIV
prevention
 Criminalizing people who inject forces them underground and
into dangerous practices to avoid the criminal justice system.
 Mass incarceration worsens the HIV epidemic
 Alienating young people from services.
 Where comprehensive harm reduction measures have been
adopted, HIV rate sharply decreases.

10. What we want
 Remove the barriers to services
 A comprehensive range of harm reduction services
 Engaging youth both in service design and implementation
 Policy makers, donors, service providers who concentrate on
HIV prevention to place much greater focus on young
people who use drugs.
 End criminalising young people who use drugs.