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LETTERS AND COMMENT
Mary Long / iStock
‘ I have been told by people in recovery that there is no way I could ever help them because I didn’ t have lived experience – and believe me, that really hurts.’
FRONTLINE FOCUS
I have just read‘ Message from the Frontline’( DDN, April, p24). It is a very fair reflection of a lot of people’ s experience working within this area. Unfortunately it is also the view of many ex-workers who have suffered burnout because of the pressures involved.
I worked for a Lancashire charity and loved both the charity and the work, and the folk I used to deal with. After I
was made redundant I started up the Mulberry Community Project in Blackpool. We are a supported housing nonprofit-making charity and we have been running now for 14 years. We have had lots of people through our doors and many have gone on to continue their previous careers; many now work within this industry at projects like the lived experience team in Blackpool.
I am now 75, nearly 76, and about to retire. I think I have had a successful career within this industry and I know I have helped lots of people just because I wanted to – not for glory or anything like that, but just because I could. I have seen changes while doing this, such as less money being put in.
I have been told by people in recovery that there is no way I could ever help them because I didn’ t have lived experience – and believe me, that really hurts. I have seen organisations come and go that have been formed only by people with lived experience, with no skills in organisation or management. Also, we are being told all the time that the government are putting in so many extra millions of pounds every year, and yet things on the street do not get any better and people like us never see any of this‘ extra’ money. I have yet to see any money, never mind extra money. A lot of my time can now easily be spent trying to track down money to keep going what I think is one of the best examples of a recovery organisation – when I would rather be spending my time with our residents as they seek their recovery. Keith Stevenson, Mulberry Community Project, www. mulberrycompro. com
NNEF CALLING
More talks around drug consumption rooms / overdose prevention centres are taking place nationally, with some local authorities pushing forward more than others – hopefully more diamorphine-assisted treatment programmes will start up too. We need these services urgently, alongside rapid OST prescribing, if we are to stop the truly appalling rise in drugrelated deaths – we still have one of the highest rates in Europe. Our existing policies and strategies do not work and need updating, or throwing in the bin as unfit for purpose. I also feel enraged when I still hear talk of‘ we need to be ready for those new opioids’, when talking about nitazenes. Didn’ t we‘ ready’ ourselves when DRDs started to rise, around ten years ago? Clearly not. Just commissioning more services to‘ throw’ naloxone at people is not enough – we have never distributed so many kits, yet DRDs are still rising. And how are we going to eliminate hep C if people struggle to get sterile syringes? A recent pharmacy mystery shopper exercise highlighted issues such as:‘ I was refused equipment as I didn’ t have any returns’ or‘ I was offered five syringes only’.
So with more at stake than ever, please join us for our next National Needle Exchange Forum( NNEF) – our first face-to face meeting since before COVID.
This full-day event in Birmingham on Friday 27 June will bring together people passionate about harm reduction and improving services, with expert speakers.
It’ s free to NNEF members – and you can join NNEF for free! Please visit nnef. org. uk Philippe Bonnet, NNEF chair
DDN welcomes all your comments. Please email the editor, claire @ cjwellings. com, join any of the conversations on our Facebook page, X and LinkedIn 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
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24 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • MAY 2025 WWW. DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS. COM