Youth Health Champions

About the Qualification

The programme was fully funded by the Humber Violence Prevention Partnership (VPP) and offered free of charge to young people aged 16–25 living in the local area. It was designed in response to the growing need for violence prevention approaches that support communities and the wider public.

As the ‘Violence Prevention Youth Health Champion Qualification’ was a national pilot, the young people taking part helped shape and develop the course through co-production. This means that future cohorts on the course will have an even better experience.

The training aimed to develop advocates and champions for violence prevention within healthcare and community settings, whilst also supporting participants’ confidence, leadership skills and career prospects in health and social care.

Developing their Campaigns

Due to the high standard of their work, we invited the group to attend additional sessions to further develop their ideas. Seven of the young people chose to continue. Their campaign ideas explored:

• The Third Space Initiative: A “third space” separate from school and home, where girls aged 14-19 can engage in open, honest conversations without judgement or pressure.
• You Are Seen: Helping women understand the signs of abusive relationships and combatting the stigma of divorce.

Click the links below to explore the campaigns.

Sharing Insights at our Partnership Conference

Thanks to the continued high standard of work, the group were asked to attend our Partnership Conference on the 18 June, to present their ideas and share the impact of their training with our partners across the region.

Jonathan Evison, Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside and Chair of the Humber VPP, said: “The Youth Health Champions have shown exactly what meaningful violence prevention looks like: informed, compassionate and focused on real change. Their contribution to our Partnership Conference was exceptional. By presenting their campaign ideas with clarity, confidence and a deep understanding of the issues facing local communities, they demonstrated the powerful role young people can play in creating a safer Humber region.

“Their work reflects their professionalism and potential as future leaders. The Humber VPP is incredibly proud of their dedication, enthusiasm and outstanding ideas.”

Dawn Foster, founder of We Do Wellbeing, said: “The champions were an absolute credit in their role as young volunteers for my organisation and an absolute credit to themselves and their schools. I could not be prouder of them. They co-delivered a 1-hour workshop to around 50 people from across the Humber VPP partnership and one champion even closed the conference, speaking on the main stage to around 200 people.”

The Impact of the Programme

The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) created an evaluation report for the pilot programme, on behalf of We Do Wellbeing.

According the report:

• Training quality and learner experience were consistently rated positively. Learners reported that the training met their expectations, with the vast majority willing to recommend it to others.
• The co‑development approach was a significant strength of the programme. Learners reported high levels of satisfaction with their involvement in shaping the training content, valuing the opportunity to influence how learning was delivered.
• Learners demonstrated substantial increases in knowledge across all assessed areas, particularly in understanding public health approaches to violence prevention and awareness of relevant community and online resources.

Future Opportunities

We're looking into funding similar qualifications in the near future. To learn more, please email Kirsty Barr at: kirsty.barr@humberside.police.uk

You can also subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.