Opposite : Anna Smith , CEO ( centre ) with Ben Judd , director of business development and Lydia Plant , director of operations . Left : BDP staff and volunteers doing festival outreach .
Bristol is a thriving city with an incredible nightlife , a multi-cultural population and a progressive spirit . We ’ re also ... a city of extremes , with huge gaps between the rich and poor and worrying health inequalities .
and alcohol agency . From coproducing injecting advice for gender non-conforming folks who are injecting self-sourced HRT to providing chemsex harm reduction advice to men who have sex with men ( MSM ), BDP was able to develop innovative services , even when these were not commissioned .
SHARED INSPIRATION We have drawn inspiration from the way other placebased services from around the country flex to meet the needs of their community – Antidote ’ s pioneering weekend programme that supports MSM to try life without chems in the heart
of London ’ s nightlife , KIKIT ’ s culturally diverse treatment offer in Birmingham and Crew 2000 ’ s club drug expertise in Edinburgh are all examples of local services meeting under-served communities so well .
Being independent and locality-based has also allowed BDP to remain true to its values and vision , keeping harm reduction and service-user choice at its core for more than 30 years , even when this was politically contentious . BDP never stopped offering as many hours of easy-access needle and syringe provision in as many ways as possible , and never stopped advocating for people ’ s right to easy-access opiate-assisted treatment ( OAT ) and the right to choose life-long OAT if that was what worked for them . It also pioneered evidence-based harm reduction advice for recreational drug use across our city ’ s vibrant night-time economy .
Being an independent has also allowed BDP and others to put our money where our heart is . We launched the 50 + Crowd weekly social group in 2009 , responding to academic research carried out with our service users about what put them off engaging with drug and alcohol treatment in older age . Since its launch , it has gone from strength to strength , and has been praised as a national example of how to support older people . Whether it ’ s having a laugh with curry and bingo on a Friday or supporting people with ill health to stay engaged in treatment , this noncommissioned service is one of BDP staff ’ s most loved .
FAMILY SERVICES BDP has also delivered services for children , young people and families for more than 30 years . A whole-family approach can sometimes be overlooked , and whether commissioned or not , BDP has found a way to meet the needs of families who need us most . Our commissioned young people ’ s services keep the focus on prevention as well as treatment , while our youth group for children and young people whose parents use drugs give parents time out to concentrate on their treatment . It also provides space for children and young people to be themselves , spend time with other people in similar situations and get the support they might need .
Meeting the needs of people was our late founder and CEO Maggie Telfer ’ s ardent passion . Building on the strong foundations laid by Maggie , with a new CEO in Anna Smith at the helm and a reshaped leadership team , we have our eyes set on the horizon . Anna ’ s 30 years of experience in the voluntary sector , over a decade working in Bristol , and her passion for meeting the needs of people experiencing multiple disadvantages are set to bring a fresh perspective to the work BDP do . The new leadership team is committed to continuing in BDP ’ s spirit , being unapologetic in meeting the needs of people who use drugs , championing contemporary practices , remaining agile in our ability to deliver them – and demonstrating our commitment to the community to which we belong .
Lydia Plant is director of operations at BDP
BDP ’ S SHARED CARE SERVICE is one of the largest in the UK , with around 2,200 service users receiving OAT a year across all but one of Bristol ’ s GP practices , and has been running for more than 30 years . Service users can access treatment in their community without facing the barrier of attending a drug and alcohol treatment service . Equally as important , BDP workers embedded in GP surgeries can ease access to primary care , and workers there are engaged with passionate GPs and practice staff across Bristol who are tackling the stark health inequalities our service users face , supporting them to access help when they need it .
Two out of five people starting treatment in Bristol were referred by their GP – that ’ s ten times the national average . Those hard-won professional relationships built over the years pay off for our service users .
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