UPFRONT
Drink and Drugs News is published by CJ Wellings Ltd, Romney House, School Road, Ashford, Kent TN27 0LT
Editor: Claire Brown e: claire @ cjwellings. com Advertising manager: Ian Ralph e: ian @ cjwellings. com Reporter: David Gilliver e: david @ cjwellings. com Designer: Jez Tucker e: jez @ cjwellings. com website: www. drinkanddrugsnews. com Website support by wiredupwales. com Subscriptions: e: subs @ cjwellings. com Printed on environmentally friendly paper by the Manson Group Ltd Cover: JP Phillippe / Shutterstock CJ Wellings Ltd does not accept responsibility for the accuracy of statements made by contributors or advertisers. The contents of this magazine are the copyright of CJ Wellings Ltd, but do not necessarily represent its views, or those of its partner organisations.
IN THIS ISSUE
COVER STORY: TACKLING EXCLUSION
6
INSIDE
4 NEWS Alcohol treatment; benzo crisis 8 RELEASE Failures in prescribing 11 REINTEGRATION Focus on dignity 14 KETAMINE Detox, and testimony 16 LETTERS & COMMENT 18 WHOLE PERSON What really helps? 22 SEXUAL ABUSE Using drugs to cope 23 WORKFORCE Rethinking supervision 24 I AM A... Criminal justice lead
10 13 20
Opening opportunities Widening access to naloxone
Physical health in recovery
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The most powerful changes can start small
Progress in our sector doesn’ t always arrive through sweeping reform or major investment. Sometimes it comes through noticing what’ s missing – and choosing to fix it. As systems become ever more complex, the simplest barriers can exclude people at the sharpest edge of inequality – no phone data, no transport, no bank account, no proof of identity. These are not marginal problems. They are daily obstacles that quietly undermine engagement – and the opportunity for successful treatment and rehabilitation. Liam’ s article( p6) shows how modest, practical interventions work – because they start from the reality of people’ s lives rather than the convenience of systems. In a pressured sector, it’ s a timely reminder that sometimes the most powerful changes start small.
We know that making abstinence the gateway to housing, work or social inclusion can shut out the people most in need of stability, so we’ re interested in the evidence and examples of housing-first and employment-first models succeeding( p10). In challenging stigma, we need to recognise that reintegration is not something to be earned at the end of a journey – it’ s the very foundation that makes progress possible.
Claire Brown, editor www. drinkanddrugsnews. com and @ DDNmagazine
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