ON THE COVER
Meeting the challenge at the eighth national
service user involvement conference, p8
DDN is an independent publication, entirely funded by advertising.
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Federation of Drug and Alcohol Professionals
Supporting organisations:
4
NEWS
Services report reduction in frontline staff, says DrugScope’s latest
State of the sector
survey. DDN’s round-up of local and national news.
6
THE DDN CONFERENCE 2015
‘The challenge wasn’t getting off drugs, but staying off.’ Powerful and
inspiring presentations at
The challenge – getting it right for everybody
.
8
TAKING INSPIRATION
‘I’m not the only person in this room who’s been through challenges.’
Turning trauma into triumph during the final talk of the conference.
10
NALOXONE ADVOCACY
‘Demand naloxone in your area. Don’t pussyfoot around, demand it.’
The conference gave a platform to naloxone becoming widely available.
12
USER INVOLVEMENT
‘The whole experience is about connecting.’ What delegates took
home from the eighth national service user involvement conference.
14
OPINION
Challenging preconceptions and personal journeys – a GP’s view
from Dr Steve Brinksman, while Daniel Galloway tells his story in the
lead-up to this year’s recovery walk. Plus the latest views and feedback
from our readers.
March 2015 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 3
editor’s letter
‘There was a palpable sense
of determination that some
called “old school activism”.’
Contents
G
oing to conferences can be a rare privilege these days.
There’s no time, no money, no staff, no resources… but
somehow the service user involvement conference this
year soared above all this, and really rose to ‘the challenge’. It
helped that our speakers were amazing and each contributed
something unique to the mix, using their personal experiences to
innovate and inspire. Their stories of empowerment were exactly
what the event was about and you can read their perspectives
throughout this special conference issue.
There was a palpable sense of determination this year that
some called ‘old school activism’. The call to arms on naloxone
distribution, started by Kevin Jaffray from the platform and
continued through meetings, training and campaign films, was a
well crafted initiative that garnered wide support and participation
and is already leading to impressive results as delegates take the
message to their home turf and join the campaign by the Naloxone
Action Group (NAG).
For many other delegates the power of networking was in full
force, sharing ideas, inspiration and the need to stand strong in the
face of cutbacks. We also learned from the conference ourselves,
here at DDN. We heard that it was useful and valued, and we’ll
fight for the resources to do it again.
Claire Brown, editor
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