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More than half of adults affected by addiction
Fifty-three per cent of UK adults either have personal experience of addiction or know someone who has, according to an IPSOS poll commissioned by the Forward Trust. However, having‘ that first conversation’ about addiction issues remains a significant challenge, says Forward, with more than half of respondents who’ d personally experienced dependency saying they’ d be uncomfortable talking to their employer about the issue and 35 per cent feeling the same way about discussing it with a close family member. Around a third also said they’ d be uncomfortable discussing it with a friend, GP or even their partner.
More than half of respondents, however, said they would personally intervene to help someone struggling with addiction issues. Forty one per cent disagreed with the statement that those experiencing addiction had‘ only themselves to blame’, while 31 per cent agreed.
OVERCROWDING, staff shortages and a deteriorating infrastructure are having a‘ profound impact on the ability of prisons to deliver rehabilitation’, according to a report from the House of Commons Justice Committee. The situation risks undermining‘ the very purpose of imprisonment – to reduce reoffending’, it states. Around 80 per cent of all offending in England and Wales is reoffending, the document points out, while half of prisoners are not involved in any education or work while in prison. The report follows the committee’ s damning review of the‘ endemic’ drugs crisis in the prison estate.
The poll findings, published as part of Addiction Awareness Week, will form part of a‘ State of the nation’ report by Forward and the Crest think tank to be published next spring. The document will‘ examine how the scale of addiction in the UK is impacting across a range of societal issues, including homelessness, family life, the judicial system and the workplace’ the trust states.
‘ Addiction touches every part of our society— our families, our workplaces, and our communities,’ said Forward Trust CEO Mike Trace.‘ Yet too often, shame and misunderstanding stop people from getting the help they need. These findings show that while many people recognise addiction as something that deserves compassion, stigma and fear still stand in the way of recovery. We urgently need to change the conversation— to see addiction as a health issue, not a moral failing. With almost 18,000 people dying young each year in
There was a‘ widespread failure’ to meet the statutory minimum for time spent outside the cell, the new report says, with many prisoners locked in their cells for 22 hours or more each day, exacerbating the crises of poor mental health and disengagement.‘ Purposeful activity – including education, work and offending behaviour programmes – is central to rehabilitation yet it is inconsistently delivered and often deprioritised’, it says, while high staff turnover and poor recruitment processes are also contributing to a culture that hinders rehabilitation.
Half of prisons reported concerns around access to drugs
' Addiction touches every part of our society— our families, our workplaces, and our communities.'
MIKE TRACE
the UK from the direct effects of drugs, alcohol or gambling, there is an urgent need for a more compassionate response.’
‘ Dire’ prison conditions undermining rehabilitation, say MPs
and‘ increasing numbers of“ under the influence” incidents requiring healthcare intervention’, the report adds, with widespread use of spice, heroin, cocaine, nitazenes and ketamine. HM Inspectorate of Prisons has previously stated that drugs were now‘ undermining every aspect of prison life’.
The government needs to set out how it will ensure that rehabilitation is not compromised, the committee stresses, alongside how it intends to manage demand and supply in the country’ s prisons. Women in prison are also being failed, it says, with the system‘ not providing even basic support’.
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PERFECT PARTNERS The Nottingham City Place Based Partnership, which involves 15 organisations, has won‘ Integrated Care Initiative of the Year’ in this year’ s HSJ Awards. The recognition‘ celebrates our collaborative effort to improve how colleagues and services across the city work together to better meet the needs of people experiencing multiple disadvantage,’ said Changing Futures programme director Bobby Lowen.
DISCREET DELIVERY Via has launched a naloxone delivery service in Cheshire West and Chester, Gloucestershire, West Berkshire and the London boroughs of Brent, Greenwich, Harrow, Kingston, Merton and Redbridge. Naloxone Direct to Door allows anyone 18 or over to order free, discreetly packaged naloxone kits for delivery to a chosen address. www. viaorg. uk / information / naloxone.
WALK THE WALK FAVOR UK is inviting bids from towns and cities to host the 2027 Recovery Walk, with all approved bids then put to a public vote. Next year’ s walk will be held in Bradford in September. Bidding details at www. facesandvoicesof recoveryuk. org healthandcarenotts. co. uk
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