We are delighted to share something we have recently been involved with at Streetlife. We are always looking for ways to raise awareness about important issues in the area and around the rest of the country.

Drugs education art project

Last month, we worked with Ellie and the fantastic team at HIVEArts in Blackpool on their drug education art project. HIVEArts uses different forms of art to tell stories and share information about important topics.

We’re delighted to share that some of our young people’s artwork was featured at the Punters exhibition! The exhibition ran from the 13th of April until the 21st of April. The exhibition aimed to raise awareness about the county line and drug culture through a range of art, poetry and culture.

Leading up to the event

During the lead-up to the exhibition, Ellie from HIVEArts held weekly workshops at The Base to engage young people in using art to express their own experiences on the subject. It’s so important to raise awareness about these topics, and doing so through art is a great way to get people involved.

County Line is a term used to describe gangs and organised criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs into one or more importing areas (within the UK), using dedicated mobile phone lines or another form of “deal line”. They are likely to exploit children and vulnerable adults to move (and store) the drugs and money and they will often use coercion, intimidation, violence (including sexual violence) and weapons. The dealers will frequently target children and adults – often with mental health or addiction problems – to act as drug runners or move cash so they can stay under the radar of law enforcement.

The event outcome

All profits from the exhibition were kindly donated to Streetlife from HIVEArts, for which we are incredibly grateful. At Streetlife, we rely on the generosity of the local community to support us in our mission of reducing the number of homeless young people on the streets of Blackpool. With the support of places like HIVEArts, we are able to continue offering services in both The Base and The Night Shelter.

Additionally, our amazing young people’s artwork was for sale, and all of the proceeds are being paid to them.

We want to thank Ellie and the team at HIVEArts for their incredible support and for inspiring our young people.