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providers, and subsequently, the Equinox project
managers met with service providers and attended
team meetings, explaining referral procedures. They
also met with the community mental health team, GPs,
the YMCA and A&E referral workers.
In March 2013, premises for the confidential groups
were secured, and in April the cannabis and alcohol
groups began in Watford and Rickmansworth,
respectively. Location was the key to success, with the
cannabis venue proving more accessible. During 2013,
the cannabis group grew steadily. A solid core group
formed – between six and 14 men and women of all
ages attend every week.
They went on to form a peer steering group (which is
supported by Equinox but self-facilitating). They have
created their own website, www.noneed4weed.org.uk,
as well as posters and leaflets, which feature their
original illustrations and content. These have been
distributed to doctors’ surgeries in the Watford area.
Group member Terry needed to give up smoking
cannabis due to an emphysema diagnosis. ‘I suggested
that everyone swapped phone numbers so we could
support each other,’ he explained. ‘So now, anyone who
says they are cutting down or quitting, we send
messages to support them. It really makes a
difference. One of the guys on the group has a dad who
is a website engineer, so we also have a cannabis
group website with a forum.’
The Three Rivers alcohol group retained the same
members each week, but after Equinox’s year of involvement ended, the alcohol
group ceased to exist. The main learning point has been that the target group of
professional people, who were not accessing alcohol support in any form,
needed to identify their drinking as problematic first, typically with one-to-one
counselling. This might have established the motivation to attend mutual
support meetings.
Chief executive of Equinox Care, Bill Puddicombe, explained, ‘The argument for
working with alcohol users seemed the stronger. There is a long tradition of mutual
help proving beneficial in aiding the recovery of alcohol-dependent people.
‘As it turned out, the cannabis project was the success. While there are
strong indications that mutual help can be successful in assisting with recovery
from drug dependency, little of the work that we could find was with cannabis
users. Our two local staff, Kathy Young and Jackie Groves, quickly found a group
of people in Watford who were keen to end their cannabis use. They moved the
group forward with our help. It was always the intention that Equinox assisted in
the creation of the recovery community and moved on. Now the cannabis group
is self-supporting and going from strength to strength.
‘We learned that it is not a good idea to predict who will take up the mutual help
offer. Our research had suggested that dependent drinkers, in work and relatively
affluent, would find this a more palatable option than local treatment services. In
fact they were more drawn to privately funded services, such as counselling.’
Brian Gale, senior commissioning manager for public health at Hertfordshire
County Council, added, ‘It has been enlightening to see how this initiative has
developed. The programme plan was to engage the wider community and then
establish the groups on the basis of this engagement, although this meant the
group took a long time to establish. On reflection, it would have perhaps been
more beneficial to timetable and deliver the group provision for people alongside
the programme of community engagement.
‘However, overall we are pleased with the establishment of a cannabis group
in the area and will be interested to see how this continues to develop over time
as a resource for local people.’
Charlotte Tarrant is marketing manager at Equinox Care,
www.equinoxcare.org.uk. For more information about the Watford mutual
support network email charlotte.tarrant@equinoxcare.org.uk
IN 2012, EQUINOX CARE WAS AWARDED TWO GRANTS BY HERTFORDSHIRE
COUNTY COUNCIL
– one to develop mutual help options for local people with
alcohol dependence, the other for individuals who wanted to end or reduce
their cannabis use.
The project started in late 2012. The aim was to set up confidential
networks in Watford and Three Rivers, which would become self-sustaining by
the end of 2013. The cannabis network initially targeted young adults in
Watford, aged 18 to 24, whereas the alcohol network targeted professional
people in Three Rivers. We found there were many people drinking above safe
levels who were not accessing alcohol support. This included people in
demanding jobs, commuting into London, who were experiencing work stress
and overcompensating with alcohol.
In January 2013, an alcohol leaflet went out to homes and businesses in
Rickmansworth, targeting places where professionals accessed services
such as hairdressers, newsagents, restaurants, pubs and clubs. Promotion
for the cannabis network started in February. With BBC Three Counties
Radio, the
Watford Observer
and
My Ricky News
providing supportive local
media coverage, notices were also placed on the Three Rivers District
Council website.
We put on a stakeholders meeting to network with local and countywide
Practice exchange|
Support networks
10 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| April 2014
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
Building a
network
Charlotte Tarrant
explains how Equinox
Care’s mutual aid
groups for cannabis
and alcohol misuse
have built a network of
support for local users