Reflecting On and Recapping 2025/26
- James Crystal
- Apr 9
- 5 min read
"Reflections on nearly another year of delivering drug prevention talks"
Delivering talks across the 2025/26 academic year has been rewarding, emotional, and full of moments I will not forget. It has also forced me to confront something I have always believed but never quite been able to prove at this level: when young people feel truly seen, heard, and understood, change goes from being a distant fantasy to something that feels tangible and possible.
Not guaranteed. Not instant. But possible.
That word matters more than anything, because I refuse to accept that any young person should lose hope. Most young people drifting towards harmful behaviours don't believe change is possible. They feel labelled, misunderstood, already written off, or worse, like they're invisible entirely.
So when I walk into a room to deliver a drug prevention talk, I'm not walking in to "educate." I'm going to connect, and to create a space where something shifts, where sparks are ignited, and hopelessness begins to die.
The Impact, Measured
This year, 478 students completed feedback surveys after my talks. The impact isn't just felt — it's documented.
were highly satisfied with my talk
found my talk relevant and helpful for them personally
said they would have valued from hearing my talk at a younger age
These are more than statistics. They represent young people who didn't simply sit through another hour-long session, they engaged, reflected, and felt something shift.
Why these talks actually work
Teachers are assigned the task of delivering drug education as part of PSHE. They are well-intentioned and their content is often accurate, but it naturally lacks lived experience, and for many students, it simply doesn't land. Not because the facts are wrong, but because the delivery can feel distant, outdated, or detached from the reality young people actually live in.
The truth is that decisions around drug use aren't made in classrooms. They're made:
In moments of pressure.
In moments of pain.
In moments of identity crisis.
In moments where fitting in feels more important than standing out.
Those moments aren't logical, they're emotional and automatic. Facts alone rarely cut through. What does cut through is raw honesty, vulnerability, and real stories that illuminate not just the consequences of drug use, but the deeply human reasons behind it.
When I stand in front of a room and speak openly about my lived experience with addiction to weed, heroin, cocaine, crime, and the chaos that followed, I'm not presenting a case study from a textbook. I'm holding up a mirror, and for some young people, for the first time, they recognise something in that reflection.
What young people are saying
The most powerful confirmation of impact doesn't come from me, though, so take it from the young people themselves. These are their words.
"His words and story have been more powerful than any of the 100 talkers, teachers and whatnot. I say yes — it would have impacted me back then."
"I really related to what he said and have so many similarities to his life. I hope I can learn to think about my choices, identify my triggers, and cut down on smoking. How he put it across really dug deeper into why I smoke so heavily and gave me techniques to stop. It was really helpful."
These responses reflect exactly the impact I set out to have. When young people feel genuinely seen and understood, they feel safe enough to disclose what they're really battling with, and that is where meaningful change begins.
What Schools Are Seeing
"James Crystal's story packs a real punch and has an impact on everyone who hears it. Within it is every element of safeguarding you can imagine. If you're attached to enrichment, youth work, or safeguarding — reach out to James. He has, and will continue to, change the lives of many."
"James was highly engaging to both pupils and staff, to the point that some sought me out specifically to say it was the best session they have had since starting at the school. The students loved how real and relevant James was."
One of the most consistent pieces of feedback I receive at the end of sessions is: "I've never seen them this quiet." That tells me these talks aren't just well-intentioned; they're well thought-through and unique. Something that cuts through the noise and creates genuine ripples of change.
The Shift You Can't Always See
The most powerful part of these talks is often what happens afterwards, when students return to the complexity of their real lives. It's the young person who:
Thinks twice, and says no the next time they're offered something
Starts questioning why they're using, not just what they're using
Recognises a pattern before it becomes a problem
Feels less alone in something they've never spoken about before
Makes a decision that changes the course of their life
You won't always see that headline moment, but occasionally, a message finds its way back to me:
"Thank you for everything you do James. You've really inspired me and helped me break out of a two-year addiction. Keep doing what you do."
Those words literally mean EVERYTHING to me, and I cannot overstate my enthusiasm here. THIS IS WHY I DO WHAT I DO!
When a talk becomes a turning point
Sometimes the impact is immediate and undeniable. Walls come down, a student stays behind, and a real conversation begins. This year, I've had more of those moments than ever before, young people asking questions I rarely hear in schools:
"How do I stop?"
"Why do I keep going back to it?"
"How do I deal with what I'm feeling without using something?"
These aren't surface-level conversations. These are young people standing at a crossroads, asking for help, looking for guidance, and in need of someone who genuinely understands what they're going through. In those moments, the talk becomes something else entirely. It becomes a turning point.
Why timing matters more than perfection
One of the most striking insights from this year's feedback was that 68% of students wished they had heard this talk at a younger age. That statistic alone should be the call to action.
Prevention has never been about delivering the perfect message. It's about delivering the right message at the right time, before habits are formed, before identity becomes tied to behaviour, and before coping mechanisms harden into dependencies.
"The best intervention is the one you never have to make. We often wait until a problem is visible before we respond — but by then, the work is harder, more costly, and far less effective than prevention would have been."
One of my goals for the coming year is to reach young people earlier in their stories, to meet them before patterns take hold, while there is still time and space to change course.
Final Reflection
Václav Havel - playwright, dissident, and the first democratically elected president of the Czech Republic - is renowned for his writing on hope, truth, and moral responsibility. He once wrote that hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out.
That idea sits at the heart of what I do. Not every young person who hears my talk will act on it. But some will, and that is why we go above and beyond to maximise every chance we can.
When even one young person walks away thinking differently, choosing differently, or reaching out instead of shutting down, that is not just impact, that is prevention in its purest and most powerful form.
Thank you to every school and organisation that has trusted me with their students this year. Without you, this work simply would not be possible.
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