StreetDoctors
Empowering young people affected by violence to save lives and make positive choices
StreetDoctors trains young people aged 11 to 25 who are affected by violence to become lifesavers in their communities. What makes it distinctive is who does the teaching: a UK-wide network of trainee doctors, nurses and paramedics who treat young people as part of the solution to street violence, never the problem.
Working with youth workers and partner organisations, StreetDoctors runs short, practical first aid sessions in places young people already know, from youth clubs and sports projects to youth offending services. Every session is co-designed with young people, trauma-informed and free of judgement, so it reflects real lives and real situations.
Young people leave knowing what to do if someone is bleeding or unconscious, and with the confidence to act. Many go further: they share what they’ve learned with friends, lead social action and train others, becoming role models and leaders where they live.
2025
Year they joined the Raise Your Hands platform
20,364
Children and Young People supported last year
Why theyâre needed
Assaults, fights and crimes involving weapons have serious consequences for young people across the UK, shaping how safe they feel and who they trust. Behind every incident are friends, families and neighbours who are left shaken, both physically and emotionally, often long after the headlines have moved on.
When someone is hurt, the people closest to them are often their friends. In the minutes before an ambulance arrives, knowing how to stem bleeding or check someone is breathing can save a life. Young people who’ve taken part say they wish they had learned these skills before they ever needed them.
Young people affected by violence are too often seen only as part of the problem. StreetDoctors believes knowledge is power. With the right skills, confidence and voice, young people can keep themselves and others safe and help challenge the idea that street violence is normal.
How they do it
The core Reducing Violence Programme is two interactive sessions of up to an hour each: “What to do if someone is bleeding” and “What to do if someone is knocked out”. Through demonstrations and open Q&A, young people learn to call an ambulance, apply pressure to a wound, use the recovery position and give chest compressions, and talk about how feelings affect whether someone steps in.
Young people who want to go further can join StepWise, a youth leadership programme built on peer education and social action. Alongside lifesaving skills and a nationally recognised first aid qualification, they explore mental health and wellbeing, learn to lead sessions for others, and plan and deliver their own project to make their community safer.
Through the Multipliers programme, StreetDoctors trains professionals to deliver its sessions one-to-one or in small groups, backed by an eLearning app, and it is co-designing a new programme with young adults in prison. The volunteers grow too: through Young Healthcare Leaders, they become doctors, nurses and paramedics who understand violence reduction from the ground up.
Find out more about StreetDoctors’ amazing work
Lifesavers in Action
In Bristol, 15-year-old Tommy was with friends when he saw a boy who had been stabbed. While one friend started filming, Tommy called an ambulance, applied pressure to the wound and kept reassuring the boy that he would be OK, following the steps he had learned at a StreetDoctors session. Police and paramedics said this might be why the boy is still alive today. âI really like helping people,â Tommy said afterwards.
In South London, Jack had been to a StreetDoctors session a couple of months earlier when his brother brought home a 14-year-old who had been stabbed. Using the card he had been given at the training, Jack gave first aid until help arrived. The boy survived.
In South Teesside, Sam found a homeless man lying unconscious. Sam knew to put him in the recovery position and keep him safe until the emergency services arrived, and said afterwards that the session had given them the skills and the confidence to help someone in need.
Names and image have been changed.
Support StreetDoctors along with 15 other children’s charities
StreetDoctors is one of a portfolio of small UK children’s charities championed by Raise Your Hands. When you donate to us, your gift is shared equally between every charity in the portfolio.
One donation. 16 small charities. 16 ways to change a young life.
