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The Matthew Project is a Norfolk charity offering free, confidential support for young people dealing with issues around drugs, alcohol, or family substance use. Our services include YouCan (help for under-19s affected by a family member’s substance use), Unity (support for under-19s impacted by personal or others' substance use), and On Track (guidance for 13-24s facing barriers to education or employment). Welcome! Here you can see our young people services that we run at The Matthew Project. Our services aim to support, empower and advise young people. YouCan If your worried about a family member or relative using drugs/alcohol, use the button below to see how we can help. This service is for: Age under 19's Living in Norfolk Impacted by family/relative drug/alcohol use Read More Unity If you are worried that your own drug/alcohol use is having a significant impact on you or others around you, click on the button below to see how we can help. This service is for: Age under 19's Living in Norfolk Want to stop/reduce drugs/alcohol use Read More On Track Do you have barriers making it difficult to find/stay in education/employment. Use the button below to see how we can help. This service is for: 13 - 24 year olds Living in Norfolk At risk/not in education or employment Read More Accessibility We believe all young people should have equal access to information and support regardless of barriers. To see how we do this follow the button below. Read More Have Your Say We value our young peoples feedback and ideas. If you would like to see how you can have your say, please follow the button below. Read More Your Stories Want to know about another young persons experience? Click the button below to see some short stories from other young people we have helped. Read More . . What's New Load more

Resources to help inform you and keep you safe around drug and alcohol use. Leaflets and Posters Download and print our leaflets and posters to use in your school, workplace, community centre, or anywhere that young people may want to learn more about our services. YouCan Leaflet Poster Unity Leaflet Poster On Track King's Lynn and West Norfolk Coaching Kings Lynn and West Norfolk SPACE Great Yarmouth Support Norwich Safe Space Substance Information Ketamine Poster

Contains information on our website accessibility. Accessibility Info We are committed to creating an environment that is both accessible and inclusive to young people. Here’s how we ensure that: Non-Judgemental We know that you may be worried about accessing support around drugs and alcohol as you are worried about the stigma. We actively work hard to reduce any stigma and we are here to support you. Young People-centred We design our service with the needs and preferences of young people. We actively seek your feedback and make amendments to the service from these. Safe Spaces We meet you in a space you feel comfortable and where you are free from discrimination. We also meet you at a time which is convenient for you. Participation This service is voluntary, which means that it’s your choice if you want to work with us. We also encourage you to voice your ideas and any concerns through our young people advisory groups, online surveys and 1-2-1 with your worker. We are committed to making our website accessible. We use an accessibility scanner to identify areas for improvement. With our website, we aim to achieve the following: Provide alternative text to ensure that site images can be read by assistive technology, such as screen readers. Ensure good contrast between the background and text to improve readability. For people who cannot see colour, ensure linked text is underlined or displayed in a contrasting colour to the surrounding text. Verify that all content on our site remains visible when zoomed in to 200%, allowing people with visual impairments to access it. Replace images containing only text with actual text, as images with text cannot be read by assistive technology like screen readers. Avoid videos without sound and include captions where needed. Seek feedback from the young people we support, as well as from others outside our organisation, including young people with disabilities. If you find any non-accessible content or have suggestions on how we can make our website accessible to a wider audience, we would love to hear from you. AbilityNet has a range of simple ‘how to’ guides to make your device easer to use. This includes how to make text larger, changing website colours and using speech recognition - Simple 'how to' guides to make your device easier to use | My Computer My Way (abilitynet.org.uk) The Matthew Project pledges to continue helping children and young people flourish. For our pledge this year we will create and develop opportunities for young people in our service to have a direct link to our Board of Trustees. This will enable our service users to influence and help shape what we do through co-design and production. This gives young people a voice, enabling them to develop their knowledge and skills which will benefit them throughout their lives. In 2023 , we received the best news that we won the Safe and Secure Flourish Award. This award was for outstanding contribution towards keeping children and young people safe from harm. In 2024 , our senior practitioner in the Unity team, Zee was nominated for a Flourish Award and has been judged as Highly Commended in the Healthy Award Category. This is for outstanding contribution towards helping children and young people understand decisions that impact their health and be empowered to lead their happiest and healthiest lives. Thank you to young people we work with who inspire us every day and work hard with us to overcome barriers to reach their goals.

See frequently asked questions about our service and what we do. Frequently Asked Questions How do I get support for someone I know/myself? Anyone can get in touch with us to make a referral. This could be a parent, carer or professional or you. If you want to refer yourself or someone you know, you can do this by going to our contact us page to chat with a member of the team in the most accessible way for you. What happens when I get referred? We will contact you, or the person referring you and arrange to come and meet, in a place you feel comfortable. What happens if I change my mind? Just let us, or the person who referred you know. Our support is totally voluntary. We understand that people change their minds. You are always welcome to come back. Will you tell other people what I have said? We offer a confidential service. Confidentiality means us not telling anyone else about the things you tell us, we will talk to you about who you are comfortable with us talking to. Sometimes your parents, carers or teachers may be aware that you have been referred to us, particularly if you chose to see us at your school or home, this does not mean we will tell them everything that you tell us, we will discuss this with you and agree what information YOU feel comfortable sharing. If there’s a risk of very serious harm to you, or someone else, we may need to share some of what you have told us, we will try and talk to you and let you know what might happen next. Will you tell me to stop using drugs/alcohol? No we understand this is your choice and people use substances for a variety of reasons. We are not here to judge you, or tell you what to do, we will support you to decide what you want from the support. Do you have to tell my parents that I am working with you? If you are over 13 and we feel you understand what it means to get support from us, we do not need to tell your parents that we are supporting you. If you are under 13, we do need to get consent from your parent or carer to be able to offer you support. This doesn’t mean we will tell them what we talk about with you. Will I get into trouble? We will not share the information you tell us unless we are extremely worried for your safety, our aim would be to keep you safe not for you to get into trouble. How long can you work with people? For the YouCan and Unity service. Our support is not time limited we can continue to support you for as long as you feel you need the support. We can see you weekly, fortnightly, or monthly, depending on what works best for you. For On Track, there are sometimes time limits depending on the service. Contact On Track's for more details. Is there a waiting list? We do have at times a waiting list but we will be in contact within 2 weeks and will always keep you updated of when a meeting will be booked. Can I see you in school? Yes we can come and meet you in a place you feel comfortable this could be at home, school, college, wherever you feel comfortable. Can I talk to you about other stuff? Yes we understand that drug or alcohol issues can be one of the issues you are facing, we will complete an assessment with you that will look at what other support may be useful, this could include mental and physical health, housing, education and relationship advice. Will there be a change in worker? We try not to change your worker, we know it can be difficult when one of our workers leave, if we have to change you to a new worker, we will ask you what kind of person you would feel most comfortable with and try and match you with one of our workers. Can I bring someone with me? Yes we understand it can be a big step meeting someone new. My parents/carers don't drive, how do I get to you? We come to you! We can meet you in a location you feel comfortable such as school and for our holiday activities we can arrange transport so you can attend.

About Us Who are we? We are the young people service at The Matthew Project. We empower young people to overcome issues with drugs, alcohol, unemployment and mental health. We do this because we are passionate about supporting young people to flourish. We know it can be difficult to meet someone new for the first time, especially if you are meeting them to get help, so here are some pictures of our staff doing different activities so you can get to know us a bit before you meet us. Out of gallery

Resources to help inform you and keep you safe around drug and alcohol use. Resources Substances Information Click the buttons below to learn more about different substances. Click Here Ketamine Cannabis MDMA Alcohol Cocaine Coming soon Coming soon Coming soon Coming soon Here you can find resources for other sites, helplines and more. If you know of any resources that you think would be helpful to add to the list, please contact us via email. Details can be found here . Important Notice In an emergency situation, or if you feel you, or another person is at risk of immediate harm, call 999 for urgent support from police, fire or medical services. You can also access non-urgent police support by calling 101 and non-urgent medical advice by calling 111. (*) Asterisk marked resources will take you to an external page not monitored by us. While we check these sites to make sure they are secure, we are not responsible for any information collected by/or given to them. Drug & Alcohol Information and Support CGL* Support for those affected by, or using, substances who are over 19yrs. Number: 01603 514 096 More Info Talk to Frank* Information about drugs, their effects and the law. More Info NACOA* For children of problematic drinkers. Chat advisers are available. Number: 0800 358 3456 More Info Alcohol Education* Supports parents, carers, teachers and community leaders to keep young people safe around substances. More Info Drug Wise* Promotes evidence-based information on drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Not for individual support, just information. More Info Other Helplines & Websites Childline* Call 0800 11 11 for support or help for children aged under 19. More Info Kooth* Online wellbeing community. Free, safe and anonymous online support and counselling. More Info CEOP* Provide information and advice on how to keep children and young people safe online. More Info YESS Norfolk* Supports young people aged 10 – 18 across Norfolk recognising that young people are experts in their own lives. More Info Samaritans* Call 116 123 for support and awareness around suicide. More Info Young Minds* Young people and children's mental health charity. Has a 24/7 crisis text support at: 85258 More Info The Mix* Helps with mental health, money, homelessness, finding work, breakups and more. More Info SHOUT* Text SHOUT to 85258 for wellbeing support 24/7. More Info First Response* Urgent 24/7 mental health support service for Norfolk and Suffolk. Number: 111 (Option 2) More Info Norfolk FYI* Trusted help, advice and information for 11 to 24 year olds around their health/wellbeing. More Info Family Support / Concerned Others Family Lives* Parenting Support 24/7. Parent line on 0808 800 22 22. More Info Just One Norfolk* Local support for young people, parents and professionals. Parent Line: 0300 300 0123 / 07520 631 590. More Info ADFAM* Support for family members affected by drug and alcohol issues. More Info

Support for those that are worried their own drug/alcohol use is having a significant impact on them or others Welcome to Unity! It can be worrying when you feel that your own drug/alcohol use is having a significant impact on you or others around you. Below are a few ways in which you might feel your drug/alcohol use is impacting you. If you feel like these are relevant to you, our Unity service can help. Scroll down to see how we offer support and how you can get in touch with us . If you would like to learn more about different substances, click on the button below to go to our resources page. Resources Page Common signs No Control? Feel like you need to use drugs/alcohol? You can't cope without it? This can make you feel out of control of your life, but we can help. Emotional Change? Are you experiencing noticeable changes in mood, anxiety, irritability or depression? These changes can happen when using drugs/alcohol. Feeling Ashamed? Do you use drugs/alcohol on your own? Trying to hide it from others like your family? You could be feeling embarrassed about what you're doing. Feeling Withdrawal? Tried to stop and started to feel sick, anxious or develop shakes? You could be experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Our Support to You We can support you in the following ways: Regular tailored support and safety advice Meet in a place you feel safe that's your choice Flexible contact range (phone, text, email etc) Motivational techniques Education around substances and their impact Harm reduction & relapse prevention support Sexual health advice (C-Card, BBV + Hep B Screening) Finding other support services to help you We know it can also be hard explaining things to your family/guardians, which is where we can also help. Get support To access support, click the button below to fill out our referral form. A social worker, teacher, or youth worker can complete it for you, or contact us for help. Click Here Contact us Still unsure? Would you like to talk to someone before deciding if you want to receive support? You can chat with us through our anonymous Live Chat, via email, or over the phone. Click Here

Contains information on our safety, privacy and safeguarding policies along with how we handle confidentiality. Privacy & Safety Info Confidentiality Worried about speaking with us? We get it - talking about topics that may be personal to you such as drugs or alcohol can feel risky. We’re here to help, not get you in trouble. What you tell us stays private, unless we believe you or someone else is at serious risk of harm, or a serious crime is involved. Your worker at The Matthew Project will explain this to you when you first meet with them. Examples of where we may need to share information: Someone is being abused. There is a serious threat to your life or safety. Examples of where we wouldn’t need to share information: You’ve been using drugs or alcohol. You’re worried about how substance use is affecting you. Contacting us When you contact us, we will listen without judging and explain our confidentiality policy. We may ask you questions so we can explore your needs and provide you with the best support. Any information we record will be confidential and stored securely. We will only share information about you when we think that you or someone else is at significant risk of harm. You can see our Online Safety Policy here , and our Safeguarding Policy here . When you contact us the information we collect from you will depend on why you have contacted us, what you are comfortable sharing and what action you would like us to take. Advice line call information will be stored securely, detailing the date/time of the call and the reason for the call. We will not keep your name or contact details unless you have asked us to contact you back. We will only keep data for as long as is necessary. Privacy We take your privacy very seriously. Before you start chatting with us, we will ask you to read our information, so you understand what this means for you and when we may have to share your information. If you follow any links to any other website, you will no longer be subject to our privacy terms. What is Data Protection? The Data Protection Law is in place to make sure that we use your personal data lawfully and keep it safe. If you have any questions relating to GDPR/Data protection, please email dataprotection@matthewproject.org . You can see our Data Protection Procedure for more information. You can see our Privacy Policy here . Consent By starting a Chat, you will be consenting to us having information about you. You can withdraw your consent at any point by telling the worker, or by emailing us at unity@matthewproject.org What Information we collect and who will see it. We use your information to provide you with the support you have requested. There may be times where sharing information is helpful, for example, if we have serious concern for your safety or the safety of someone else. When you use our Online Chat, we will save your IP address and details about why you have contacted us. We will keep a Transcript (a written record) of conversations between you and our workers. Your full information will only be seen by our staff unless we have a serious concern for your safety or the safety of others. Anonymised data collected from our Online Chat or website may be used to provide statistical data for our funders. No personal details will be shared. Keeping your Information Safe We do all we can to keep the information we hold about you safe, please read our Privacy Notice. We use other companies to provide services for us, we ensure that these providers meet all legal requirements in line with GDPR guidance Data protection laws. Our website is provided by WIX https://support.wix.com/en/article/wixs-privacy-policy who process all the data collected from people who visit our website, including our ‘Contact us’ forms. Comms 100 provide our Online Chat https://www.comm100.com/platform/security/ Chat transcripts will stored securely and kept by us for a period of three months, they will then be automatically deleted. If there are safeguarding concerns in a chat transcript, these will be kept in a separate folder of the Unity chat email inbox for 12 months. Any safeguarding concerns will be shared with our safeguarding Managers and may be shared with other services if required. They will automatically be deleted after 12 months unless they are part of an ongoing investigation. If you are already accessing support from Unity and you would like your chat to be saved to your record, or a message passed to your worker, we may need to ask you a few questions to confirm your identity. Your Rights - Right of Access/What to do if your Info is Wrong You have the right to ask for a copy of the information we hold about you. If you want to access your information, send a description of the information you want to see and proof of your identity by post to The Matthew Project, 70-80 Oak Street, Norwich NR3 3AQ. We do not accept these requests by email, so we can ensure that we only provide personal information to the right person. If any if this information is wrong, let us know and we will correct it. If you have any questions, please contact our Support Team on 01603 626123 or enquiries@matthewproject.org . Essential Cookies Like most websites, we may use ‘cookies’ to help us make our site, and the way you use it, better. Cookies are small text files that sites transfer to your device (computer, phone or tablet) and make interacting with a website faster and easier. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.

Summer At Home Activities We’re offering activity packs that children and young people can complete at home. There are six different packs available, and you can choose up to two! Pack options include: Baking Pack, Self-Care Pack, Art Pack, Positivity Pack, Growing Pack and Bug Hunting Pack. Click the button below to choose your packs! We’d love to see what you create! Send a photo of your finished project to josie.wood@matthewproject.org to be entered into a prize draw. We’ll be sharing creations on this webpage, so you can also check out what other young people have been making! Important: Please don’t include your face in the photo, this helps protect your identity, as the webpage is open to everyone. Booking Form for Packs Baking Pack Self Care Pack Art Pack Positivity Pack Growing Pack Bug Hunting Pack Baking Pack Self Care Pack Art Pack Show More

We want you to feel safe and be able to talk openly about things when you meet with your worker. Is it safe to talk? Confidentiality We want you to feel safe and be able to talk openly about things when you meet with your worker! You have a right to a confidential service and to disagree with us. It is important for you to know that we do not share the information you give us unless we have your permission. In very exceptional circumstances we may have to disclose information. This means we will only pass on information if we believe there is a risk of you or someone else suffering serious harm or a serious crime is planned or has been committed. Data Protection Everyone who sees a Matthew Project worker for support will have information about them held on our computer system. How do you keep the information about me safe? Your file is password protected with additional security features. Your file might contain sensitive and personal information including details of the work we do with you. If we fill in anything on paper, this will be scanned onto a computer and shredded. What will be put in my file? It will contain the things you tell us about yourself and may have information that other people tell us about you, such as forms filled in by other professionals (e.g. school, children services). We only record relevant information. Why do you do this? We record information so that staff can make good decisions about the kind of support we offer you and to make sure you get all of the help you need. We also need to be able to explain and prove that we have been working well with you. Who sees the information? Matthew Project staff can see the information about you. They will only look at it if they are working with you or your family. Can I see the information you have about me? Yes, you have the right to ask us for copies of your personal data. If you want to access your information, you can do this face-to-face, by email, on the telephone or by letter. We will respond within one month. The Data Protection Law is in place to ensure we use your personal data lawfully and keep it safe. For more information, please visit - matthewprojectyoungpeople.org/privacy-info Sharing Info With your permission, we will collect information for local and national statistics for our funders and to help plan our services. We will only use your personal information with your consent and only for the purposes it was collected for. We will keep personal information confidential and will not disclose it to any third party without your consent, unless we are obliged to do so by law, or it is necessary due to your or someone else’s safety. We will always try to talk with you before sharing this information although this may not always be possible or appropriate. Compliments and Complaints If you would like to make any comments about The Matthew Project or tell us about something we have done well, please contact us. We hope to give you the best service possible but sometimes problems may arise. We aim to deal with your compliant in a way which will put things right and stop problems from being avoided or covered up. If you complain it will not be held against you in the future. You will be listened to and your complaint will be confidential. We will try and deal with complaints on an informal basis by chatting through the problem. You can call your worker or another staff member by phoning 0800 970 4866. If this does not resolve the problem/issue, or is not suitable you can make a formal complaint. Making a Formal Complaint You will be asked to write your complaint down in an email, someone can help you with the writing if you want. You must complain within 3 months of the problem happening. We will explain to you how we will follow up your compliant.

We can be contacted Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. The only exclusion to this is our live chat which runs Monday to Thursday, 4pm to 7pm. Our Number: 0800 970 4866 Our Email: Unity@matthewproject.org Contact Info Say Hello We will only ask for information you are happy to share but if you would like to be referred we will need to ask extra. Phone YouCan - 0800 970 4866 Unity - 0800 970 4866 On Track - 01603 723845 Email youcan@matthewproject.org unity@matthewproject.org contact@ontracknorfolk.org Social Media Name Phone Email Message Send Thanks for submitting! Live Chat Live chat currently runs from: Monday to Thursday, 4 pm to 7pm (excluding the 27th and 28th of December, where it will be 9am - 5pm) and is for 13yrs or older only. If you are under 13 and would like to talk to someone, please contact Childline on 0800 11 11. If you are over 19, please contact CGL on 01603 514 096. The Live Chat does not run on Bank Holidays. To access the live chat, click on the orange circle on the bottom right-hand side of your screen. This is a confidential service for young people with issues or questions around drugs and alcohol. This is not a crisis helpline. If you require urgent help, please call Childline on the number above or 999. This chat is with real human beings, not an AI or a bot. Visit Us We know it can be daunting going to a new place for the first time and meeting one of our team. This is why we cover all of norfolk and can travel to meet you in a location you feel comfortable in. While we welcome people to visit our centre, we ask that you contact us ahead of time so we can make sure there is a member of our team available to meet you. Address 70 - 80 Oak Street, Norwich, Norfolk, England - NR3 3AQ Opening Hours Mon - Thu Fri 9:00 am – 5:00 pm 9:00 am – 4:30 pm This is our reception!

Information to help parents and careres who have a child struggling with drugs/alcohol or is affected by family use. Parents/Carers Info A little about us We are a Norfolk charity that provide a free confidential service to young people up to 19. These young people can be using substances themselves (we refer to this as Substance Misuse) or that have a parent, carer or sibling thats using substances that could be affecting them (we refer to this as Affected Other). Worried your child is an Affected Other? If your worried that your own, a relatives or other childs substance use could be affecting one of your children, we can support them. Support Worried about your child's drug/alcohol use? IIf you're struggling with a young person's substance use, we're here to help. You are not alone - drugs and alcohol can impact the entire family. Support Support for you We can provide support to parents who are worried about their child's substance misuse. This can include virtual group sessions, focusing on the exploration of family dynamics, boundaries, consequences and the development of support networks. The Matthew Project run a parent/carer support group which runs monthly and provides a chance to meet other parents of under 19's who are experiencing similar difficulties. The groups aims are to help deal with the worries and stresses faced while providing strategies to help you to cope and deal with the challenges that often arise. The parent support group takes place 19:00 - 21:00 at 70 - 80 Oak St, Norwich, NR3 3AQ. Booking is essential. The referral form for the parent/carer group is below. For more information, please email: unity@matthewproject.org Referral Form Parent FAQ's Further Tips & Advice Contact Us The Matthew Project supports adults in addiction recovery through structured programs, skills training, therapeutic group sessions, and one-to-one support. The Matthew Project Change Grow Live (CGL) offer support for adults affected by someone else’s substance use and supports adults who are struggling with their own substance misuse. CGL's Website “When shut out of your son’s life, and all doors seemed closed, The Matthew Project opened theirs. A big thank you. As a parent I was desperate, how must my son feel?” Anonymous Parent/Carer