SERVICE USER
CHAMPION WINS
MANAGEMENT
AWARD
SUNNY DHADLEY
, service user involvement officer at
the Wolverhampton Service User Involvement Team
(SUIT), has been awarded an Award for Excellence
from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).
The award recognises his management and leadership skills, and
was presented to SUIT at the recent CMI Midlands annual
conference and awards event at Birmingham’s ICC.
‘I’m delighted to have been given this award by CMI in recognition
of my management and leadership abilities,’ said Dhadley. ‘At one
point in my life I didn’t think that anything was achievable. This
award has shown me – and others – that everything is.’
May 2015 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 5
attending BDP group sessions with service
users, the team developed a prototype app
that combined a questionnaire, examples of
users’ stories and personal diaries.
Each member of the winning team has
been awarded a paid one-month internship at
TCS, while BDP has received a £1,000 donation.
RESTORATION
ENTERPRISE HEADS
FOR NEW HEIGHTS
A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
in London has
celebrated more than a year of successful
business with an event to thank its supporters
and recognise the conclusion of a successful
pilot phase.
Restoration Station, a project of the
Spitalfields Crypt Trust (SCT), is now providing
work experience restoring vintage furniture
for six people in recovery, as well as making
original pieces from reclaimed and recycled
materials.
The project is popular with both shoppers
and other local businesses looking for bespoke
creations, and gives individuals in recovery the
opportunity to build their confidence and
develop new skills.
‘It’s a fantastic project,’ said Della Tinsley of
the East London Design Show. ‘I think that the
power to have a skill and make something is
incredibly restorative... something that really
has an ability to change lives.’
FREE TRAINING FOR
FAMILY MEMBERS
ADFAM IS OFFERING FREE TRAINING
to
friends, family members and carers of
individuals with substance misuse problems.
After a pilot in the London Borough of
Greenwich, Adfam has now extended the
training to services in Kent that support
people affected by others’ substance use.
The one-day training programme aims to
empower individuals to become Family
Recovery Champions, who would in turn be
able to offer support and advice to others
using the service.
For more information or to book training
contact Bex Peters,
SPONSORED BIKE RIDE
HONOURS BARRY’S
MEMORY
STAFF FROM ADDACTION CORNWALL
have
taken part in a sponsored bike ride to raise
money in memory of a volunteer at the service.
Barry Marsh died in November last year of
cancer after dedicating many hours of his
time to offering other people support and
sharing his own story.
The team of staff organised and
completed an 11-mile cycle route, and the
money raised has been donated to Cornwall
Hospice Care, which supported Barry towards
the end of his life.
BDP AND STUDENTS
EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY
CHALLENGE
A TEAM OF STUDENTS
from the University of
Bristol, working with the addiction charity
Bristol Drugs Project (BDP), have won the 2015
Tata Consulting Services (TCS) Tech Challenge.
In its second year, the TCS Tech Challenge is
designed to inspire young people to get
creative with technology.
The team from Bristol University
collaborated with BDP to create an IT solution
that targeted and engaged recreational drug
users. Researching the project by working with
the university’s student counselling service and
Jack Hall and Justin
Hoggans of BDP,
far left.
University of
Bristol students,
clockwise from
top-left: Daniel
Stephens, Rachit
Bangar, Zinnia
Siddiqi and Lukasz
Dygon.
Their mentors,
from left-to-right,
were Adrian Lucas
and Peter Snipe.
Sunny Dhadley:
‘At one point in
my life I didn’t
think that
anything was
achievable.’
VETERANS’ SERVICE
ADVANCES TO
SOUTH WEST
A NEW TREATMENT SERVICE
for military veterans with drug and
alcohol problems is being expanded into the south west of England.
Right Turn, launched by Addaction and funded by the Forces in
Mind Trust, is already available to veterans throughout Scotland and
the north of England. It aims to offer ex-service men and women
support during their transition back to civilian life.
The programme also hopes to influence policy makers and
improve services by providing a detailed evaluation both of the
project and the scale of the problem.
Meanwhile, initiatives to help ex-service personnel continue at
Liverpool’s Tom Harrison House (
DDN
, December 2014, page 6)
where a new national conference learned from US colleagues about
developing veteran-specific addiction treatment.
‘We have a lot to learn about how we support our veterans who
are experiencing active addiction or alcoholism,’ said head of
service, Jacquie Johnston-Lynch.
‘We have a
lot to learn
about how
we support
our veterans
who are
experiencing
active
addiction or
alcoholism.’
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