and audio clips from service
users and professionals,
animations and practice
scenarios to help apply
learning. Topics were
identified by a range of
experts, including people from the community
who use or have problems with substances.
Prof Galvani acknowledged there were ‘many
fantastic social care and health practitioners
doing brilliant work’but added ‘many do not
have the information or training they need to
work with people with substance problems –
this resource begins to address this gap.’
CHILDREN IN NEED
GRANT HELPS OUT
YOUNG CARERS
A GRANT FROM CHILDREN IN NEED
is helping
to support young carers in Birmingham.
Children’s charity Spurgeons is creating a new
service to help young people who care for
family members who misuse substances,
including alcohol. A partnership with youth
engagement specialists, Urban Heard, will
enable them to run group sessions to teach
useful coping and life skills, including stress
management, budget management, healthy
cooking and making positive life choices.
THREE CHEERS FOR
NEW GRADUATES
ACTION ON ADDICTION
welcomed their patron
HRH The Duchess of Cambridge to their
Wiltshire centre to hear about training the
addictions counsellors of the future. Through a
partnership with The University of Bath, the
charity’s centre for addiction treatment studies
trains students from all walks of life, including
those who are themselves in recovery or who
have a family connection to addiction.
As part of her visit, the duchess heard from
new graduate Anna Elston, who gave a
moving account of her journey from addiction,
to recovery, employment and now an honours
degree. Posing with students, she encouraged
the new graduates to throw up their mortar
boards for a ceremonial photo.
VETERAN PROGRAMME
REACHES CORNWALL
VETERANS WILL BE OFFERED SUPPORT
with an
alcohol or drug problem through Addaction’s
new Right Turn programme, funded by the
Forces in Mind Trust. From successfully
working with veterans in the north of
England, Scotland and north Somerset, the
grant will enable Addaction to expand the
project to its Cornwall services, including a
veteran programme at Addaction Chy
residential rehab centre in Truro. ‘After military
service, a small but significant number of
people can face particularly difficult
challenges that can lead them to turn to drink
and drugs in order to cope with the stress of
transitioning back into civilian life,’ said Forces
in Mind Trust chief executive, Ray Lock.
February 2016 |
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| 5
OUTDOOR VOLUNTEERS
MAKE A PATH TO RECOVERY
VOLUNTEERING ON A CONSERVATION PROJECT
has helped a group
from a Doncaster drug and rehabilitation unit to discover the joys of
the outdoors.
The project, run by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, involved service users
and staff from Aspire’s New Beginnings group in erecting posts and
laying footpaths as part of a conservation task day at Potteric Carr
Nature Reserve.
‘Connecting with other people, giving back to the community,
being active, taking notice of our surroundings and trying new
experiences are five new ways to improve wellbeing,’ said substance
misuse practitioner Terez Nagy. ‘They also help us to feel part of the
community we live in – which is an important part of someone’s
ability to sustain recovery and thrive.’
KEMP OPENS NEW
REHAB SUITE AT
HMP BELMARSH
FORMER EASTENDERS ACTOR
and investigative
journalist Ross Kemp visited HMP Belmarsh recently
to open the prison’s refurbished rehabilitation suite,
run by CRI. Opening the suite, which is designed to
help 250 clients at a time, Kemp said: ‘Issues
surrounding drugs and alcohol have played a major
part in the places I have visited… in life it can be very
easy to fall prey to drugs and alcohol abuse but not so
easy to realise that you have a problemwith it.
‘The peer mentors that work with the service users,
aiding them on their recovery, are vital,’ he added.
‘Having someone who has gone through the same
issues you have, who is relatable, is essential and I
wish the team and the service users at HMP Belmarsh
every success in their lives.’
Ross Kemp, pictured
with prison governor,
Simon Cartwright and
CRi executive director,
Mike Pattinson.
DISC SUPPORTS
YOUNG CARERS’
AWARENESS DAY
NORTHERN CHARITY DISC
is promoting its
services for carers as young as five, through
an open day to offer information and advice
to parents. The service helps to improve
family relationships and reduce feelings of
isolation, while encouraging young carers to
develop their aspirations alongside
educational and employment potential.
‘Our service delivers respite to those
young people – it may be through a trip to a
bowling alley or a museum or activities such
as crafts or gardening,’ said Emma Crawford-
Moore (pictured) of Darlington Young Carers
Service. ‘We offer one-to-one support, support
groups, information, advice and guidance and
whole family support.’
INNOVATIVE SITE
HELPS WORKERS
LEARN BY EXPERIENCE
AN INNOVATIVE ONLINE LEARNING TOOL
has
been developed for health and social care
professionals. The open educational resources
(OERs) were funded by Health Education North
West and launched by health and social care
experts at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Professor of adult social care, Sarah
Galvani, led development of the website,
which uses a range of media including film
‘our service
delivers
respite to
those young
people,’
Emma
Crawford-
Moore, of
DiSC,
promoting
services for
carers as
young as five.
