addaction

A few years ago, a teenager called ‘Andy’ told us how he’d visited his GP to discuss his drug problem. The GP listened for a while and then prescribed him anti-depressants. Andy said thanks, left the surgery and on his way home, threw the tablets in the bin. ‘I wasn’t depressed’, he said, ‘so I didn’t need them’. When we asked him if he’d challenged his GP about the prescription, or discussed other ways he could get help, Andy said no.

This passive attitude towards help is all too common, If they don’t feel engaged, young people can – and often will - drop out. What’s more, statistics show they’ll often return to treatment within twelve months (due to relapsing in their drug or alcohol use) before dropping out again and repeating this cycle of events over and over.
And when this happens, the costs to society can build and build. Many of our young clients have a history of truancy, for example, and estimates have put truancy as costing the UK over £800m a year. Many teens with drug or drink problems have committed crime in the past, too – and the Prince’s Trust estimates that each year, the cost of youth crime costs Great Britain in excess of £1billion.

One of the most frustrating things about all of this is that young people do want to be involved in the treatment they are receiving. In our previous work with teenagers, we saw that they know what works for them, and they know what doesn’t. The problem was they were simply unaware they could assert themselves, challenge decisions and make positive suggestions.

Listening to the young people in our services inspired us to develop Addaction Aspire: two separate projects with shared aspirations and outcomes. Aspire Cornwall started in May 2010, with funding from Big Lottery Fund. Its aims are simple and effective. In an informal and creative way, young people accessing our treatment services are given the skills and experience to interact with professionals, services and adults. They’ll do this in group settings; in workshops and role-plays which build up their confidence, and focus their attention. From here, clients will go on to receive Assessment and Qualification Alliance (AQA) and Award Scheme and Development and Accreditation Network (ASDAN) accreditation for their coursework evidencing the skills they have learnt - a landmark achievement for many.

In June 2010, we also launched Aspire North Lancashire with funding from the mygames programme run by the youth volunteering organisation v, which uses the inspiration of the Olympic Games to encourage young people to share their time and talents. Young people will be encouraged to apply and build on the skills they gain in the group work settings by volunteering their time to develop community projects that have a positive local impact. This could be anything from public artworks and delivering drug and alcohol education sessions in schools to transforming wastelands into community areas - giving the young people involved a sense of achievement and local pride. Young people will also go on to receive AQA and ASDAN accreditation for their coursework evidencing the skills they have learned through the programme.

If you’d like to find out more about Aspire, you can email Gabrielle Chalk on g.chalk@addaction.org.uk

You may have read about Addaction  in the ‘Real Lives’ section of today’s Daily Mirror.

On our site, you can find out about our work with young people and with families.

You can also find if we have a service local to you.

We also produce information which you may find helpful. “Know what you’re talking about” is a new guide for familes.

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 download a copy, or order printed copies from us, here.

This film is about our Young Addaction service in north Lancashire. It’s one of many services that Addaction offer specifically for young people, throughout the UK.

 We know that adult services can be either intimidating or irrelevant to younger people, so our Young Addaction services are specifically for under-18s.

We’ll listen to you, and help with any problems you might be having. We won’t share what you tell us without asking your permission first, and we won’t get you into trouble.

Find out more about our Young Addaction services here.

You may have seen an advert like the one above. It’s one of many that we’re using to promote Addaction’s new fundraising appeal.

Our aim is to turn around the lives of thousands of young people; preventing them from becoming long-term drug addicts and alcohol abusers, and improving the lives of thousands more family members and the wider community.

You can read more about our new appeal here. You can also find out more about the people in our adverts, like Ellie (above) who is attends a project run by Addaction in Halton, Cheshire.

Only recently, Ellie was interviewed by the BBC and, in this video, you can hear her (along with Colin, who works for us) talk about the support she receives from Addaction.

One in five young people say they think their parents have taken drugs and of those, one in ten say they think their parents still take drugs, according to a survey published today by Addaction.

You can download a copy of the survey here and read a press release about the findings here.