International Day against Drug Abuse
26 June is the UN’s International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1987, serving as a reminder of the goals agreed to by UN Member States of creating an international society free of drug abuse.
The European Social Fund programme in England is funding projects that help people with drug and alcohol problems to address the issues they face. The aim is to support their route to recovery through opportunities for self improvement, gaining new skills and moving towards or into employment.
It is increasingly recognised that access to employment support can play a vital part in the process of recovery from addiction. Lack of effective employment support can erode the benefits of treatment because without prospects for employment the recovering addict is less able to reintegrate into the community. New Pathways into Work in West London is an ESF Innovation project that links frontline services in a range of sectors (including health, housing and employment) to help people facing multiple barriers to employment, including drug addiction.
Joseph (not his real name) is one of the programme’s success stories. He started taking heroin in 2007 at the age of 18. Wishing to overcome his addiction he attended The Junction in the London Borough of Brent, where NHS treatment services are complimented by an employment specialist for those without employment. Joseph’s road to recovery has been a long one, and includes one major re-lapse where he returned to drugs and lost a job, but his employment specialist never gave up on him and he is now clean of drugs, well established in a new job as a food section counter assistant, and active in his local football team.
Another recent success story is Louise McKenny, who won this years’ Adult Learners’ Week ESF Learning Works national award. Louise has battled drug and alcohol addiction and was admitted to a treatment centre in 2009. She got her life back on track and recovered from addiction after becoming a client, volunteer and then tutor on the ESF funded Cornwall Neighbourhoods for Change project.
Examples of other ESF funded employment and training projects which are responding to the challenges faced by those recovering from drug addiction or alcohol dependency can be found on the ESF-Works website. Cranstoun’s – Milton Skills for Life is a London based project that has used activities like organic gardening workshops to help people with drugs and alcohol problems develop soft skills such as teamwork and communication. Foundation66’s PEOPLE project has complemented mainstream recovery by offering additional after care support requested by the client group.
These projects all share in the understanding that recovery from drug problems can best be achieved by addressing the needs of the whole person, not just by removing the immediate symptoms and causes of dependence. Helping addicts towards employment can have a crucial role to play in their recovery.