local support for young people

Catch-22 - 24/7 Service

• Call: 0845 459 9405

• Free phone: 0800 599 9591 (emergency referral and crisis line for young people and families)

• Fax Number: 0844 264 0771

• Young people can also text the service to refer or get more information on: 07797 805 821

The 24/7 Service in Hampshire is a specialist treatment service that works with young people aged 19 and under who are experiencing problems with drugs and/or alcohol. The Service provides support to young people both within the community and the Hampshire Youth Offending Service.

Drug and alcohol misuse can have a devastating effect on young people and how their future looks. It also affects their family and their community. But it’s not simple or straightforward to change this.

The countywide Service, funded by Hampshire Drug & Alcohol Action Team, offers a range of support based on the needs of young people, and has a multi professional staff team of 15 including Specialist Support workers, Social Work Qualified Workers, Parent & Family Workers, Mental Health Trained Nurses and prescribing services.

24/7 offers the following:

• 24/7 Emergency Referral & Crisis Line for young people

• A confidential service for young people aged 19 and under

• A prompt response before their motivation falters and problems get worse

• A harm-reduction approach which informs young people about the effects of drug and alcohol misuse and the risks involved

• Individually tailored help based on an assessment of each young person’s needs

• Specialist support for mental health problems

• Access to our education, training and employment specialists to open up new opportunities

• Help for the family so they’re better able to support the young person • Access to prescribing and needle exchange services

• Access to alternative therapies

• Social work qualified staff

• Access to mentors and aftercare

How we work

When we receive a referral, we will let the referring agency or individual know which of our staff is leading on the case and make sure we have the most up-to-date information. From then on we’ll meet the young person within five days. As you’d expect we’ll carry out a thorough assessment and find out about the problems he or she faces with drink or their drug use, their other problems and where they want to get to. From this we will agree a care plan with them that will guide our work. They’ll get a dedicated worker but the whole team is on hand to help them with a variety of issues and of course focus on their education options, enabling them to learn, get into training or paid work. At all times we will keep in touch with you so that you are aware of their overall progress (in line with confidentiality) but if you need any information please contact the Service and we will do our best to assist you.

Confidentiality

The young people we work with need to feel safe in the knowledge that they can speak confidentially to us about the problems they are facing. At the same time we value working with other professionals so we keep the referring agency, and others involved in the care plan, informed of the young person’s attendance, the type of work we’re doing and his or her overall progress. We also have protocols in place which enable us to pass on information with regards to risk and/or safeguarding. Depending on the consent that the young person has given we are sometimes able share more information with the other agencies involved.

Referring and contacting the Service

The Service works from two bases, Fareham and Basingstoke (Basingstoke due to be on line by August 09). Anyone can refer, including the young people themselves.

Referring is simple - please use one of the following options:

• Download Referral Form

• Call: 0845 459 9405

• Free phone: 0800 599 9591 (emergency referral and crisis line for young people and families)

• e-mail: 247hants@catch-22.org.uk

• Fax Number: 0844 264 0771

Young people can also text the service to refer or get more information on: 07797 805 821

Feedback

We value your feedback, whether you are a young person, parent or carer, professional or anyone else who may have referred the young person. When we plan to close the case we will let you know and discuss any further concerns that you have, and also ask you to complete our feedback from. You will also be able to leave feedback on-line soon - a link will appear shortly.

Resources

The Service has a range of information leaflets and posters that are available for you to use. If you would like any of these, please contact 24/7 Hampshire or you can download them below.