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Shropshire Council
June 2018 Issue 9
WELCOME to
Recover!
Recover! Is the quarterly
newsletter for The
Shropshire Drug & Alcohol
Action Team which brings
you up-to-date with the
world of drug and alcohol
treatment; recovery; and
related services in
Shropshire.
Shropshire DAAT Newsletter
Inside this issue:
Welcome to Recover! 1
The UK Recovery Walk 1
Shropshire Drug & Alcohol Action Team Overview
2 - 3
Xanax 4
Wellbeing Walk At Pistyll Rhaedr
5
Employers Engagement Event
5
CAP Fresh Start Programme 6
SRP Charity Bike Ride 6
Recover! Shropshire DAAT Newsletter
The UK Recovery Walk
The UK Recovery Walk 2018 is taking place in Shrewsbury on Saturday 8th September and the planning for the event is coming into its final stages.
Service Users from The Shropshire Recovery Partnership have been working hard fundraising and letting people know that the walk is coming to Shrewsbury. Volunteers spent the day at the Shropshire County Show on Saturday 26th May and there was a great turn out of people to take part in a ‘Walking Float as part of this years Shrewsbury Carnival on Saturday 16th June.
We are also pleased to announce that FAVOR UK and the Recovery Walk was selected as a charity to receive support from the Tesco ’Bags of Help’ Scheme taking place in their Shrewsbury Battlefield and Pride Hill stores. The walk has also recently received a generous donation from the Guru Nanak Darbar Sikh Gurdwara in Wellington. There are still plenty of opportunities to get involved in the Recovery Walk. There are a number of volunteering opportunities to be filled, if you’re interested in participating please contact [email protected]. If you’d like to have a say on the planning of the walk, come along to one of our planning meetings:
Friday 6th
July Friday 3
rd August
Friday 31st
August
All meetings take place from 1.00pm – 3.00pm at University Centre Shrewsbury,
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Recover!
As detailed in the last edition of Recover!, the DAAT recently undertook a consultation exercise with stakeholders and other services across Shropshire to explore partners awareness of the team. A key finding of the consultation was a lack of clear understanding on the various roles and functions of the DAAT and how it operated within the wider context of the local authority and partnerships. The Shropshire Drug & Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) is based within Public Health at Shropshire Council, it is responsible for commissioning and coordinating substance misuse services to meet the needs of local people across the county. The DAAT works with other organisations across Shropshire and the West Midlands, including Police, Clinical Commissioning Group, National Probation Service, West Mercia Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) and DWP through the Job Centres. Staff are also involved in a number of key strategic partnerships such as the Shropshire Community Safety Partnership, Children’s Trust and the Shropshire Children’s Safeguarding Board to support activity to reduce the harm caused by substance misuse to individuals, their families and local communities.
KEY RESPONISIBLITIES • Coordinating the delivery of the national 2017 Drug Strategy at a county level for
Shropshire.
• Coordinating the delivery of the Shropshire Alcohol Strategy 2016-2019.
• Commissioning a range of treatment and recovery services and coordinating activity across Shropshire to improve care and support for people with drug and alcohol issues through:
Increasing peoples opportunities to access employment services to secure employment.
Supporting the prevention of problematic substance misuse through the promotion of best practice.
Providing treatment packages to support community sentencing and improving pathways between the community and prison estate.
Developing support for parents, families and concerned others.
• Leading on enquiries into drug related deaths and monitoring activity to reduce and prevent further deaths.
• Coordinating a drugs early warning system and delivering drug alerts to partner agencies and service across Shropshire.
The DAAT are also the first point of contact for any issues involving drug and alcohol issues across Shropshire.
Shropshire Drug & Alcohol Action Team Overview
Page 3
Issue 9
Meet the Team
Jayne Randall, Drug & Alcohol Strategic Commissioner Simon Haydon: Public Health Programme Officer Gavin Hogarth: Partnership Officer Sam Simcox: Administrator Get in Touch? If you’d like to get in touch with the team please contact Gavin Hogarth on: [email protected] or 01743 253982
To keep up to date with the latest news and developments on the team please follow us on social media: @Shrop_DAAT @shropshiredaat You can also find information on the DAAT, as well as further information on drug and alcohol services for Shropshire at www.healthyshropshire.co.uk
Support for those with Drug and Alcohol Issues: The Shropshire Recovery Partnership
If you are, or know of someone who needs support with problematic drug or alcohol use then please contact the Shropshire Recovery Partnership (SRP). The services works across the county, assisting and supporting individuals affected by drug or alcohol use.
A partnership between Kaleidoscope and Addaction, two leading drug treatment organisations, SRP provides adults and young people through Young Addaction a range of treatment, and recovery support.. Services include one to one therapeutic interventions, group programmes, harm reduction services, needle syringe programme and assisted withdrawal services.
If you’d like to find out more about SRP or make a referral to the service please phone 01743 294700, visit www.shropshirerecovery.com and follow the service on social media:
ShropshireSRP @ShropshireSRP
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Recover!
R
XANAX
Recently, there have been reports of increased illicit use of Xanax (Alprazolam) amongst young people in Shropshire. Xanax is a brand name of Alprazolam, an anti-anxiety medicine in the benzodiazepine family and is similar to diazepam (Valium) but it’s about 20 times stronger and has a quicker, shorter-acting effect.
In the UK, Xanax is not readily available, people who take the drug usually purchase the drug online. People who take Xanax may very quickly feel relaxed, tired and sleepy.
There is a risk of serious harm to individuals who take Xanax. Long-term use can lead to physical dependency and the experience of withdrawal symptoms when the drug is not taken.
Xanax can also cause blackouts, this brings with it a heightened risk of been taken advantage of.
Anecdotally, reports indicate that young people who tale Xanax tend to do so with alcohol and / or cannabis. This can lead to an increased risk of overdose caused by heart and breathing problems, ultimately this can lead to coma and death.
Other associated risks with Xanax use include: • Amnesia • Altered coordination and balance, leading to an increased risk of accidents and falls) • Slurred speech • Confusion • Mood swings • Muscle weakness • Sedation Instructions for supporting someone who has taken the substance include dialling 999, ask for an ambulance if the person is unresponsive or experiencing symptoms which are causing concern.
The DAAT are working closely with partners, including, Young Addaction, Shropshire’s Young Peoples Substance Misuse Service, in order to respond effectively to any concerns around the use of Alprazolam in the county. If you have any concerns for a young person living in Shropshire in relation to this, or any other substance use issue, please contact Young Addaction on 01743 294700
On the 1st June , Service users along with staff from the Shropshire Recovery Project and Kaleidoscope Project Cymru came together for the first time to celebrate recovery and wellbeing in the beautiful setting of Pistyll Rhaeadr, Oswestry. This cross county celebration, a first of its kind for the Kaleidoscope Project Organisation saw service users/ staff from the Six Counties of North Wales and Shropshire enjoying one of the Seven Wonders of Wales – Pistyll Rhaeadr, the highest waterfall in Wales.
Over forty service users and staff scaled the heights of the fall to enjoy the beautiful views. The whole day from start to finish was filled with fun, laughter and the joys of recovery. One service user, who has been completing an art course at The Gateway in Shrewsbury, produced the fantastic sketch, that can be seen here, inspired from the day. One participant fed back on the day “Just to say a massive
thank you to all the team for a great day yesterday. Such kindness and understanding is immeasurable”.
Employers Engagement Event On Tuesday 15th May, The DAAT, in partnership with SRP, the DWP and Telford DAAT held an Employers Engagement Event . The event aimed to inform local businesses of potential support available through the DWP, provide an overview of local drug and alcohol treatment services and explore some of the issues around employing individuals in recovery.
Representatives form 14 businesses attended the session which included presentations, workshop discussions and a number of inspiring ‘good news’ stories from service users who shared their experiences of finding employment and the positive effect that this has had on their recovery journeys.
The workshop was positive in highlighting some of the support that employers have put in place to help existing employees with issues around drug and alcohol use such as awareness raising and access to ongoing counselling and support.
However, discussions did include potential issues; concerns over health, and practical issues that employers felt were barriers to potentially employing people in recovery.
Going forwards, the Joint Employability Group will be identifying ways to work with employers in order to remove these barriers and encourage employment of the Shropshire recovery community.
Wellbeing Walk At Pistyll Rhaedr
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Issue 9
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Recover!
For more information go to the ‘Drugs and Alcohol’ pages of the Healthy Shropshire Website: www.healthyshropshire.co.uk
Contact us on: Email: [email protected] Phone: 01743 253 982 Twitter: @Shrop_DAAT / Facebook: @shropshiredaat
CAP Fresh Start Programme
Is there something in your life that you just can't stop doing even though you want to? Maybe it's smoking, binge drinking, gambling or an Internet addiction? Do you feel like it’s just too hard to tackle it on your own?
If you would like help to break free, then Fresh Start is for you.
Whatever it is you are struggling with, CAP’s groups provide a safe and confidential place where you can tackle the issue right at the core to break free and stay free.
Christians Against Poverty (CAP) will soon be starting a new ‘Fresh Start’ Group in Market Drayton. Sessions will be taking place at The Market Drayton Methodist Church from Tuesday 26th June.
For further information please see here
SRP Charity Bike Ride On Thursday 5th July, Paul Miller, BRIC Recovery Worker with SRP along with Zoe, James, Amy and other people in recovery will be cycling a MASSIVE 100 kilometres on a sponsored bike ride. The bike ride is taking place to raise funds for the provision of two marquees to host Mutual Aid Meetings at the Recovery Walk Celebration Event taking place in The Quarry Park, Shrewsbury on Saturday 8th September. The team are aiming to raise at least £700. Everyone involved is new to cycling so this is a
huge challenge! If you wish to donate to this worthy cause, you can do so by clicking on the link below – they will be grateful for every penny and your donations will help them persevere with their cycling challenge on the 5
th July.
https://mydonate.bt.com/charities/kaleidoscopeproject
Paul and the Recovery Cycling Team appreciate all your support.
