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7 March 2011 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 17
Seize the day |
Vox pops
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
The National User
Network (NUN) is
going from strength
to strength, says co-
chair Francis Cook
The National Users’ Network held its
AGM during lunchtime at the confer-
ence, followed by a meeting after the
event to discuss policy, direction and
the outcome of recent funding bids.
The meeting was opened by
outgoing chair Steve Freer andminuted
by Francis Cook and April Wareham.
There was a really vibrant and fraternal
feeling to this year’smeeting, reflecting
the vibrancy and energy prevailing at
the conference in general. Our
movement has been growing steadily,
as evidenced by attendance at
Seize the
Day!
and I felt a vitality and urgency
that outshone previous gatherings.
As with all the best AGMs this one
was short and nominations were
taken from the online group list (at
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/grou
p/nationalusernetwork/messages
) as
well as from the floor.
Steve Freer and Francis Cook receiv-
ed equal nominations and proposed to
co-chair NUN to spread the workload
and keep the leadership structure as
flat as possible. April Wareham was re-
elected secretary and Alan Joyce was
endorsed as communications co-
ordinator. Also co-opted was Alex Boyt
who has represented NUN as a
member of the Cross-Party and All-
Party Parliamentary Committees on
drugs and alcohol. Alex’s performance
at Westminster was noted for its good
sense, brevity and impact and the
meeting commended him. NUN was
also particularly happy to co-opt
Maureen Roberts as carer represen-
tative, a vital and often undervalued
role in user groups, which we see
Maureen hauling, kicking and scream-
ing, centre stage.
This left the issue of nominations
for a new treasurer as Linzi Gooding,
dependable,
hard-working
and
effective treasurer for the past five
years, has had to step down to meet
mounting commitments at home.
Matt Cope was elected to the post,
initially working under Linzi’s advice.
The meeting allowed just enough
time to confirm the team-based
commitment of the management
members, and to acknowledge the
excellent work done by so many NUN
members – including the strong roles
that NUN members Alex Boyt, Neil
Hunt and Alistair Sinclair, played during
the conference.
The board members would like to
thank all the NUN members for their
continued support and hard work in
the interests of drug and service users
throughout the UK. Especially wel-
come as observers were Ruaidhri
McAuliffe from UISCE Dublin and
Danny Morris, and special thanks were
given to Si Parry and Su Tutton, with-
out whomNUN would not exist today.
Altogether as fine a group of people
as youwill findanywhere, andagenuine
pleasure to work with. As Martin Amis
famously wrote: ‘Gob less’.
Francis Cook, co-chair, National
Users’ Network
Need to knowwhat’s happening in
your area? Go to
http://health.groups.
yahoo.com/group/nationalusernetwo
rk/message/7232
for detailed min-
utes and further involvement.
A feeling of vitality
PAUL HARDY, UFO
‘They [the MPs] come and
they stand and they take
questions… then some-
body will get up and
make a major, major
point and get a big round
of applause from the
whole room, and they’ll do
nothing about it.’
SUNNY DHADLEY, SUIT
‘I don’t think the govern-
ment quite understand
what recovery entails.
They need to speak to
users... They need to get a
feel for what it means to
go through the whole
process.’
DOMINIC CUMMINGS,
SUIT
‘I don’t think we have a
say in treatment services
– they close the doors on
us because we’re recover-
ing addicts. They probably
think we’re trying to scam
them because that’s what
we do best.’
DAVID BYRNE, SEARCH
‘I’m particularly distressed
to hear that people are
going to be penalised for
not doing what the gov-
ernment wants them to do.
I can understand the
concept of the Big Society...
but the cuts the coalition
government have made are
completely ridiculous.’
The
Seize the day!
video booth provided an opportunity for delegates to
share their views throughout the day. Here’s a selection.