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ConneCt
Through chairing a panel session, Anna Whitton, Addaction’ s executive director of services, wanted to look more closely at why the system wasn’ t working for everyone.‘ A young person said to me,“ I have nothing to offer the system and the system has nothing to offer me”, she said.‘ It made me think, how do we empower people? How do we integrate and co-design services for the most vulnerable in society? What is it that’ s not working?’
‘ The system is very much broken, as we’ re missing multiple opportunities to intervene,’ said Isabelle Goldie, director of the Mental Health Foundation. This was the case from perinatal services, to teachers missing chances to intervene in class, to
‘ People’ s lives aren’ t straight- forward. People don’ t work in silos, but systems often do.’
adulthood, where one in three GP appointments related to mental health problems.‘ Instead of demonising people, we need to ask what’ s gone wrong,’ she said.
‘ There’ s not enough research about what would make a difference.’
‘ People’ s lives aren’ t straightforward,’ said Paul Farmer, CEO of Mind.‘ People don’ t work in silos, but systems often do. Most people don’ t“ just” have a mental health problem.’
Campaigns such as Time to Change( www. time-to-change. org. uk) gave people a chance to talk about their experiences with mental health and could be a‘ real powerhouse’ in shifting the narrative, he said.
This narrative also needed to acknowledge the differences between treating women and men, said Katharine Sacks-Jones, director of Agenda, the alliance for women and girls at risk.
‘ Women don’ t really feature in the conversation about substance misuse and can find that services are designed as default services for men,’ she said.‘ They are a minority in services and often policymakers aren’ t thinking about them. But we need to treat them as individuals, and need to understand what shapes their lives … women are sick of telling their story again and again. We need to design services so they don’ t have to.’ Sunny Dhadley, director of the Recovery Foundation, brought the essential service user perspective – from both personal and professional experiences.‘ The criminal justice system is seen as a necessary intervention, but this has to change,’ he said. Service users had an‘ absolutely crucial’ role in shaping the system, but he was concerned about shrinking budgets, and the parts of services that could be‘ left to one side’, as well as the detrimental effect on the previously‘ massive service user involvement in the drug and alcohol field’.
Bringing the first day’ s programme to a close, was‘ A walk through Addaction’, where the conference was turned into‘ conversation café’ and the round tables in the hall were themed by 16 different projects from all over the country. Delegates‘ speed-dated’ their way around the tables and had the opportunity to discuss projects with presenters, taking up David Badcock’ s initial invitation to‘ learn, share and connect’.
Among the final day’ s diverse presentations, the theme of service user involvement was resumed by Stephen Molloy, director of the International Network of People who Use Drugs( INPUD).
‘ We need to invite and involve people who use drugs into services,’ he told the conference.‘ It’ s got to be meaningful engagement of people who use drugs – and not about when they’ re two years clean, but about where they’ re at.’
Key to this was developing community advisory boards, just as there were for many other medical conditions.
‘ People who use drugs don’ t have that voice anymore in the UK,’ he said.‘ We used to have it, but those organisations don’ t exist anymore. We have to see drug user activism and whether you’ re a drug user or not, you have to be part of that community.
‘ We’ ve become the deserving versus the undeserving and drug-related deaths are rocketing … If we don’ t challenge, governments will carry on doing what they’ re doing.’ In the closing session, Welsh rugby legend Scott Quinnell brought together the themes and turned them into a rallying cry.
‘ It doesn’ t matter what you struggle with,’ he said, talking about the dyslexia that gave him the impression he was‘ thick, stupid and lazy’ in school.‘ When you’ re told by people you trust, that’ s what you become’, with a disastrous effect on self-esteem.
‘ So tell people“ you can do anything you want in life. Believe in yourself”,’ he said. He had turned around his prospects because he had asked for help –‘ but more importantly, someone asked him‘ how can I help you?’
And that is why you’ re so important,’ he told delegates.‘ Put a smile on their face – help them. You are the people making a difference.’ DDN www. drinkanddrugsnews. com December 2016 | drinkanddrugsnews | 13