addaction

On Sunday 11th October 2009 thousands of runners will once again take on the Royal Parks Half Marathon. This unique and scenic course passes through four magnificent Royal Parks boasting superb views of many of London’s famous sights.

Addaction has a limited number of guaranteed entries to this hugely popular race and by joining our team of runners, you can help us to rebuild families who have been affected by drugs or alcohol.

Find out more about the Royal Parks Half Marathon, and how to apply, here.

A fact that’s often ignored is that drug use has a huge impact on families. The person who develops a problem with drugs is always someone’s son or daughter; usually someone’s brother or sister and, more often than not, they can be a parent themselves.

For the family, someone’s drug use can seem like an endless cycle of negative events. This cycle often feels inescapable.

Read more…

If you’ve got the running bug, or just fancy getting fit for the summer – join Team Addaction at this year’s British 10K London Run on Sunday 12th July 2009.

The 10K race (approx 6 miles), which passes through historic central London, is the perfect challenge if you want to lose weight, warm up for a big race or aren’t quite ready for the Marathon yet!  The race will follow much of the route for the 2012 London Olympic Marathon making this truly a world class event.

You can find out more about the British 10K London Run here.

On behalf of everyone at Addaction we’d like to say congratulations and a huge thank you to the 12 runners who took part in the 29th Flora London Marathon in support of Addaction on Sunday.

Already, they have earned £10,000 and they’re looking set to hit their target of £15,000.

Although the marathon is now over, you can still sponsor our runners. Find out how here.

There are now only a few days to go until the 2009 Flora London Marathon!

On Sunday nearly 40,000 people will start out from Blackheath hoping to finish the 26.2 mile course that winds its way through the centre of London.

This year Addaction has 12 runners taking part who have so far raised just over £10,000. For the past 5 months our runners have been training through the wind, rain and snow, clocking up hundreds of miles in preparation for this one day so that they can show their support for Addaction.

If you’d like to take part in next year’s event, find out how here.

We’d like to thank our runners for their hard work and support and wish them all the very best of luck this Sunday. If you’d like to sponsor their efforts, you can do so here.

Come and cheer us on

If you’re in London, and you’d like to soak up the atmosphere and cheer on the Addaction runners we would love to see you.  Addaction’s cheering point is at the RS Hispaniola - a boat moored on the Victoria Embankment at the 25 mile marker.  You can find a map online here.

As well as joining our cause on facebook, you can now follow Addaction’s news on twitter. Join up, or sign in, and follow our tweets at twitter.com/addaction

Yesterday (24th March), STV News in Scotland featured an article on Addaction’s Alcohol Support service in West Glasgow.

The Big Lottery Fund has already pledged to support the project, so it can build on existing work and target adults over 50 who have alcohol problems.

Addaction recognise that the over 50’s are very under represented in alcohol treatment, despite being a very vulnerable group.

Many will be living alone, due to events like divorce, the death of a partner and the fact that their children will have grown up and moved away. Such a solitary way of living can compound any problems they may have with alcohol, and make it harder to get the help to them that they need.
 
Over the next three years, 240 older people and 30 organisations throughout the West of Glasgow would benefit from this new initiative.

You can watch the article about this new work on the STV website, here.

A new groundbreaking study by Addaction has found that young people respond well to treatment when it is carefully tailored to their needs, and the results when families are also included in treatment is even more positive.

The results of a three-year pilot project into young people and substance misuse, funded by the Big Lottery, are set out in a  ‘Closing the Gaps’  - a report launched today.

You can read more about the report here, and download a copy below.

 Closing the gaps

The person who has a problem with drugs or drink is also someone’s son or daughter, is usually someone’s brother or sister and can be parents themselves.

‘Trouble and Love’ is a new report from Addaction which explores the impact of substance misuse on family life through the experiences of those affected.

Download a copy of ‘Trouble and Love’ here

“Know what you’re talking about” is a new guide from Addaction.

It provides basic information and advice to parents and carers whose teenage children may be experimenting with drugs or alcohol.

It contains information on what to do in an emergency, how to talk about drugs with your teenage child and he effects (and legal status) of the most widely used drugs.

Addaction recognises that many parents don’t feel confident talking about drugs with their teenage children. But we also know that discussing the subject as a family can help stop young people getting into trouble. This guide gives parents basic information to make them more confident about raising the issue.

You can read a press release about the new guide here - and download a copy here.