Three Newhaven youth club groups have enthusiastically grasped the opportunity to learn first aid with St John Ambulance and are now equipped to be the difference between a life lost and a life saved in their community.
Fourteen members of the Denton Youth Club and Lewes Road Hut Youth Club took St John Ambulance’s short one hour first aid taster sessions where they learned what to do if you have to deal with an unconscious person, the right questions to ask, what to look for and how to provide basic first aid.
Lead Youth Development Worker, Kay Watts from Newhaven Community Development Association [NCDA], who organised the training and attended one of the sessions, said: ‘Funding received from the Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner for our Think Twice project has allowed us to support local young people to gain skills and qualifications on an informal basis. It has been fantastic to see so many young people embrace opportunities such as this training over the summer term. As well as learning vital new skills it’s also nice to see them having fun, growing in confidence and supporting each other.’
St John Ambulance also put on a longer three hour first aid course for the NCDA Youth Service this week which took youth club students on to the next stage. This covered such topics as how to deal with people suffering asthma attacks, fainting or choking, how to safely remove foreign objects and how to resuscitate someone who has stopped breathing.
One of the Newhaven young people, Sasha Grace, said: ‘I’m so pleased to have had the chance to learn the basic skills of first aid. I now feel I could save a life or even just help someone who was hurt. Our trainer was very supportive and went that extra mile to support us. They made the training fun which made it easier for us to learn.’
St John Ambulance Regional Schools and Community Training Coordinator Marita Edwards said: ‘The younger the age that people learn the basics of first aid the better. These young people are now going to be able to help people in first aid situations in their homes, schools and wider communities.’
St John Ambulance is committed to preventing people from dying because no one could give them first aid when they needed it. The charity provides first aid training at all levels to people of all ages. For more information go to www.sja.org.uk