SERVICES
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
While a cohesive and national strategy is key to building a firstclass treatment system for people who use drugs and alcohol , BDP ’ s Lydia Plant makes the case for the importance of locally based independent providers as a vital part of the tapestry
National drug and alcohol providers have come to play a central role in leadership , provision and drive throughout the UK , with many of them benefiting from the extra finance brought in following the Dame Carol Black review and using it to develop exciting new ideas , technology and much-needed infrastructure . Place-based organisations , however , can be seen as parochial or lacking the strategic direction that some of the national organisations can bring – so why does local matter ?
Bristol is a thriving city with an incredible nightlife , a multi-cultural population and a progressive spirit . We ’ re also fiercely independent . Bristol is the city that toppled a statue of a Colston in 2020 , in a reckoning with the legacy of slavery . We ’ re also the city that rioted in protest against a chain supermarket opening in an area known for its independence . We ’ re a city of extremes , with huge gaps between the rich and poor and worrying health inequalities – 33 per cent of Bristol ’ s population is under 25 , and yet we have one of the country ’ s largest cohorts of older people who use opiates .
STRENGTH AND INNOVATION It ’ s no surprise that Bristol ’ s independent spirit is reflected in a strong voluntary sector . Bristol Drugs Project ( BDP ) has been a key part of this since it was founded in 1985 , against the backdrop of the UK ’ s growing heroin crisis . BDP has innovated from the start , opening one of the country ’ s first needle exchanges and working with a group of dedicated and brave GPs to steer heroin treatment into primary care , enabling people to access non-judgemental and empowering harm reduction services in their local communities .
As the needs of Bristol have changed , so have our services , often at a rapid speed – from launching a harm reduction outreach service to women in street sex work in the early days to visiting squats as ketamine use surged in the early 2000s and pioneering outreach in Bristol ’ s nightlife and festival scene .
Being an independent and smaller charity gives us the agility to trial new things and respond quickly to the needs of our service users . Dame Carol Black detailed her regard for locally led services in part two of her review of drugs , praising their ability to engage minority populations and underserved groups . BDP has run PRISM , an LGBT + specialist drug and alcohol service for nine years , offering culturally competent support to a range of people who tell us they would never have walked through the doors of a mainstream drug
Troy GB images / Alamy
20 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • NOVEMBER 2023 WWW . DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS . COM