Scottish Drugs Forum
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31st May 2003
Plans for a national network for families and carers of drug users in Scotland have been given the go-ahead by family support groups at their annual conference.
The new organisation, Scottish Network for Families Affected by Drugs, was given the overwhelming backing of attendees at the Conference in Glasgow at the end of May.
Membership of the Network will be open to Family Support Groups in Scotland - currently numbering around 90 - as well as individual family members/carers. Associate membership will be available to agencies such as Drug Action Teams and other drugs projects or organisations.
The Network has four key aims:
· to reduce isolation and stigma experienced by families and carers
· to provide and share support with family support groups, family members and others
· to raise awareness of issues affecting families and carers
· to influence responses to these issues at local and national level
A management committee of nine members has been established following a vote by family support groups throughout Scotland. Its first meeting will be held in June. There are 12 places to fill on the management committee and one of its initial tasks will be to look at attracting membership from Borders, Tayside and Ayrshire & Arran.
Main priorities for the Network are:
· to set up a national 24-hour helpline for families and carers
·to develop a national database/directory of available support and agencies
·to develop a range of resources such as funding information and training materials
·to provide support and advice to family support groups and share good practice
·to produce information sharing vehicle such as newsletters and a website
The Scottish Executive has set aside £180,000 - sourced from assets seized from drug dealers - to fund the early work of the new Network, following a pledge by First Minister Jack McConnell last year to help families of drug users. The Network will be expected to become self-financing in the longer term.
A draft constitution has been provisionally passed by the Inland Revenue as acceptable for charitable status.
The new Network came about following a call at the first Family Support Group Conference in Scotland, held last year.
A Steering Group of family members, chaired by Molly Robertson of the Scottish Executive Health Department's Substance Misuse Division, and supported by the SDF and the DAT Association, worked on drawing together the proposals for the creation of the Network. However, the future direction of the organisation will be a matter for the Network, it has been made clear.
Molly said: "Ministers asked officials to help set up the Network, but it is a Network which will be run by family members for family members."
Penny Halliday, chair of the You Are Not Alone support group in Stranraer and one of the new Management Committee, said family support groups and individuals living in areas without support groups would now have something to make them feel less isolated. The national helpline would also mean people could avoid feeling stigmatised by being able to phone for advice rather than have to call into premises, she said.
"It will be a big bonus to have a Network which will give us one strong voice which we can use to lobby for change. The Network will give family support groups help with trying to get funding, training and all sorts of things. It's a fantastic opportunity and as long as all the family support groups in Scotland work together it can only be a positive experience," said Penny.
More than 120 people attended the 2nd Family Support Conference, which featured speakers including Colin Cook, Head of the Scottish Executive's Substance Misuse Division; Emmie Williamson, of Birmingham University, and Fiona Collie, of Carers Scotland. Family members gave moving personal testimonies on the impact of drug use on them and their families.
Colin Cook gave a wide-ranging talk on various strands of the Executive's action on tackling drug misuse and spoke about the commitments within the recent Partnership Agreement to review drug rehabilitation services and invest additional resources in drug treatment and rehabilitation. Single shared assessment and reducing waiting times were two initiatives which would make a big difference to the provision of care in Scotland, he said.
Ground-breaking research done by Birmingham University on the effect of drug use on families and carers was the subject of the talk by Emmie Williamson. She outlined the key areas which research has identified that families are affected and the three ways that families respond - through toleration, engagement or withdrawal of the situation.
Fiona Collie spoke on the implications of the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 on carers' rights including a new right for carers to have an assessment done on their ability to care.
An interesting question and answer session followed, with members of the audience posing various questions on issues ranging from lack of rehabilitation services and waiting times, attitude of some GPs to dealing with problematic drug users and allocation policy for money seized from drug dealers.