Hope UK’s goal is to have every young person educated about the dangers of drug use and equipped with positive life skills, so they have the knowledge and tools they may need if they ever find themselves in situations where they are exposed to drugs.

I am taking part in going without caffeine for all of October. This is going to extremely difficult for me because I rely on caffeine to keep me from flagging at a busy nursery setting I work at. It’s mentally exhausting and so I need that extra boost.

I’m hoping that this challenge will get me to realise the difficulties people face when coming off drugs by sharing in their suffering of ‘cold turkey’ symptoms but with caffeine withdrawal instead. I like a good challenge but I am very apprehensive about this.

I really hope that you can spare a few pennies to give me that extra boost to keep going, as well as providing the money towards giving people an opportunity to come off drugs.

One of Hope UK supporters reflects on the tragic loss of her brother from a drug overdose.

"My brother passed away while studying at Liverpool University just over 3 years ago. His cause of death was cardiac arrhythmia caused by the toxic effects of him dabbling with drugs, mainly MDMA, cocaine, ketamine, and alcohol. One thing that sticks clearly in my mind is what the coroner said at his inquest, "Had he known the consequences of his actions he would not have taken them", meaning had he known more about the risks, he might still be here. I strongly believe that there needs to be more education around drugs in schools, colleges, universities and other settings to prevent deaths like my brother's happening, which is why I support Hope UK."

Finally, here is a quick reminder of how your donations will help:

£9 is the cost of reaching a young person with drug education.

£15 will pay for a set of drug samples (not real drugs) for us to use with adults.

£30 will pay for a handbook with over 100 activities for our volunteers to use when planning drug workshops.

Thanks a lot!

Sophie ❤️