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Amid the stresses and uncertainties of Covid-19 our Midlands Youth Drug and Alcohol Service (MYDAS) team continued to meet the needs of young service users and their families. During this time the service continued to grow, with the team experiencing an increase in siblings and parents seeking support. As the lockdown progressed it became evident that our service users’ mental health had started to decline. There was an increase in child-to-parent violence, self-harm, high risk behaviour and overdose. In response, our support to service users and their families increased.

Despite the adverse impact of the pandemic, the team adapted well to remote working in order to connect with service users, and this in turn will be incorporated into working practice moving forward.

As is the case for many who are coping with addictions, the boredom and anxiety stemming from the isolation of lockdown provided something of a ‘perfect storm’ for gambling problems to develop.

In spite of sporting events having been cancelled or postponed, outlets were still available for people to gamble, for example through online poker, slot machines, and virtual racing. For some, what started as a distraction began spiralling out of control, and there was a notable emergence of a ‘rapid onset’ of gambling problems among people who had never had such issues pre-Covid.