The Future of South Asian Youth in Rochdale: A Drug Crisis Hidden Behind Silence

Rochdale has always been a town shaped by strong families, and community resilience. Yet beneath this image lies a growing concern that many families are reluctant to voice openly: what kind of future awaits the town’s young people if the realities of drug use continue to be ignored?

Discussions around drugs in Rochdale often surface only when harm becomes visible — antisocial behaviour, police action, or tragic outcomes that briefly capture public attention. What remains largely unseen is the quieter crisis unfolding in homes, schools, and community spaces, particularly within South Asian communities where substance use is rarely spoken about until it reaches breaking point.

In many families, addiction is still viewed through a moral or disciplinary lens rather than as a health issue. Fear of shame, judgement, or social exclusion means problems are hidden, conversations are delayed, and young people are left to navigate risks alone. By the time help is sought, the damage is often already severe.

This silence does not reflect a lack of care. On the contrary, it reflects deep concern — parents trying to protect their children and their family’s reputation in a society where addiction remains heavily stigmatised. But silence comes at a cost. When drug use is hidden, it becomes harder for services to identify need, harder for communities to advocate for support, and harder for young people to access help early.

The substances themselves are also changing. Nitrous oxide, cannabis, prescription drugs, and other substances are increasingly accessible, often through online networks that bypass traditional safeguarding. For many young people, experimentation is not driven by rebellion but by boredom, stress, mental health struggles, or a feeling of being caught between cultural expectations and modern pressures. Without culturally relevant education or trusted spaces to talk honestly, misinformation fills the gap.

The consequences of ignoring this reality are long-term and far-reaching. Unaddressed substance use can derail education, limit employment opportunities, strain family relationships, and increase vulnerability to exploitation or criminalisation. For a town already facing economic and social challenges, the loss of young people’s potential is not something Rochdale can afford.

For South Asian communities, the impact is compounded. When addiction remains hidden, it reinforces the false belief that the problem does not exist, making it even harder to secure appropriate funding, services, or policy attention. Young people then grow up believing that help is not meant for them, or that seeking it comes at too high a personal cost.

What is needed now is not panic, blame, or sensationalism, but honesty. Prevention must begin earlier, with education that speaks to young people in ways they recognise and trust. Families need safe, non-judgemental spaces to ask questions and seek guidance before crisis hits. Local strategies must be informed by community insight, not assumptions, and decision-makers must recognise that one-size-fits-all approaches fail diverse populations.

Rochdale stands at a pivotal moment. The question is no longer whether there is a drug problem affecting its youth, but whether the town is willing to confront it openly and thoughtfully. The future of Rochdale’s young people — across all communities — depends on moving beyond silence and choosing action rooted in understanding, prevention, and respect.

When we launched The Salik Project UK earlier this year, we had one goal in mind: to raise awareness of addiction in our communities and get the conversations going. The lack of hard data, combined with limited access to mainstream services and deep cultural stigma, makes it difficult to grasp the true scale of the problem. One way we’ve tried to shine a light on it is by running a series of ongoing focus groups, led by people with lived experience within the community. For us, “lived experience” also includes the carers who walk alongside their loved ones in addiction—often with little or no support themselves.

We’re only just scratching the surface, and the heartbreaking stories we’re hearing deserve the attention of every politician—at the next local elections and beyond. But those same stories also point to something powerful: a community that is ready, willing, and able to speak up about addiction and tackle it head-on. We hope to play a small but meaningful role in helping that happen.