In-volve began in the East End of London 20 years ago around the time that Rave parties, dance culture and drugs such as Ecstasy swept the nation.
We noticed that while drug use was increasing among young people, they weren’t using drugs in the same way as the previous generation, and they certainly weren’t using the drug services that existed at the time. So we decided to find out why – by asking them.
Their feedback led directly to the formation of our first young persons substance misuse service in 1991 - The Youth Awareness Programme, or YAP as it came to be known. A service designed by young people, for young people, it was radically different from anything else available at the time.
We went on to be at the forefront of developing services for the young people considered the hardest to reach, including those from Black and Minority Ethnic Communities, creating our RAW self development programme in 1993. Since then we have pioneered work with young people involved in the growing ‘guns and gangs’ culture, and Asian communities. We’ve also developed programmes for white working class males getting caught up in race hate crimes.
In the 20 years since our first service we have become a national organisation with several projects across London, the South West, the Midlands and most recently in Trafford. But we have never lost our passion for establishing innovative services to meet diverse needs.