LETTERS AND COMMENT
HAVE YOUR SAY Write to the editor and get it off your chest claire @ cjwellings . com
WHY I DIDN ’ T LEAVE
In response to ‘ Why doesn ’ t she just leave ’, DDN March , p8 :
I was in a violent relationship . At one point he nearly strangled me , but I wanted to die , I had had enough of him hitting and bullying me . But , this was a man who I loved very much and when he wasn ’ t punching hell out of me he was the nicest most generous man on earth .
I stayed because I loved him , but then the beatings got more and more – but you know what , I still loved him and I still wanted to stay . I had to leave as he became too violent and him nearly strangling me for drug and gambling money was the last straw . But then I went through being scared of seeing him , then if I saw him I wanted to kill him , then I just didn ’ t care .
So ... I stayed longer than I should have because the man I met and wanted to be with I loved , but he changed in time because his needs changed , he needed money for drugs and gambling . Name and address supplied
TRAUMA AWARE
I read with interest the March issue with a focus on childhood trauma . I wanted to let you know about the work we have been doing in Bristol around this , and wider trauma- and adversity-informed practice . While childhood or developmental trauma is important and prevalent
‘... the beatings got more and more – but you know what , I still loved him and I still wanted to stay .’
in our client group , it can be helpful to think more broadly about experiences of trauma and adversity through the lifespan , considering how service users can often be repeatedly exposed to traumatising situations through their lives . Each experience compounds the previous ones , making it harder and harder to feel hopeful about the future or for change .
We run a training day for all staff , volunteers and peer mentors offering an introduction to trauma and adversity informed practice and have trained over 100 drug and alcohol staff in this so far . We also offer evidence-based psychological interventions for trauma to our service users , both group and oneto-one based . We provide reflective practice sessions to groups of practitioners across the system , providing people with a chance to think about the impact of working with traumatised clients and how to avoid re-traumatisation through our service delivery .
I would be really keen to connect with other practitioners working in the same way across the country and to share information with others about any aspect of what we ’ re doing . Dr Sarah Stacey , clinical psychologist , by email
DDN welcomes all your comments . Please email the editor , claire @ cjwellings . com , join any of the conversations on our Facebook page , or send letters to DDN , CJ Wellings Ltd , Romney House , School Road , Ashford , Kent TN27 0LT . Longer comments and letters may be edited for space or clarity .
/ ddnmagazine @ ddnmagazine www . drinkanddrugsnews . com
LOSING OUR VOICE
A failure to have effective independent SU forums in place is having a detrimental impact , says Vincent Yewlett
The people who use services need to be represented independently by service user forums run by service users . I have been chairing for nearly five years regionally and three years nationally . In my own experience , and other SUs ’ experiences , meaningful co-production has not been included throughout two recommissioning processes . Clear engagement with the people who are unable to access services has not been considered when recommissioning new services . As far as I can see , this is in the contracts of the area planning board ( APB ) and the Welsh Government ( WG ), but it has not been done .
As a result of having ineffective SU forums , the communities are not getting reached and the information is not being collected that is needed for effective recommissioning processes .
This also impacts on many other areas including the harm reduction strategy . The only way to see if this strategy is implemented into all commissioned services is through SU forums , as no commissioned services would volunteer to tell the APB or WG if that service was failing in a particular area . As I have been part of SU forums for some time and have attended every meeting , I can comment on this from experience .
SU are the most effective connections with people who are not currently in services . If the effective tool of the SU forums is not able to help services improve , it also leaves people who use services with no voice , nowhere to take current issues , problems or positive experiences of treatment .
This is putting people and the harm reduction strategy at risk , and leaving people who use services with no support or safety net when issues arise . It ’ s also seriously affecting the effectiveness of the recommissioning processes which aim to create better services to help the public and communities reduce harm and save lives . When done effectively , service user involvement can take the strain off other services like criminal justice , social services and the NHS . It helps the homeless population and reduces the crime rate .
The SU forums were created by APB and WG specifically for these purposes and it ’ s in the APB and WG contract . The APB and WG are commissioned to create better services , make sure the harm reduction strategy is implemented in the commissioned services effectively and to check that when the recommissioning of services is complete , it ’ s working for SU in the community . They are also commissioned to collect the views of SU , which in Cardiff and the Vale has not been done in an effective way .
Vincent Yewlett is regional and national SU chair for Wales , email voiceforthecommunity @ outlook . com
WWW . DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS . COM APRIL 2021 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • 11