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drinkanddrugsnews
| August 2014
Conference report |
Reach Out
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
F
or every person grappling with drug and alcohol misuse, it’s
estimated that at least five others are affected – husbands, wives
and partners, mothers, fathers, siblings, children, grandchildren,
friends, employers. Yet, as with most carers, their struggles go
largely unacknowledged and under-supported.
The DHI Reach Out one-day event in Bristol – now in its seventh year –
offered a unique opportunity for families and loved ones to share their
experiences with peers and professionals. The event included social care
professionals, families and carers already in service, and those hoping to learn
more as they considered seeking support.
The programme included talks from family members and professionals, as
well as a keynote speech from Duran Duran bassist John Taylor on his own
personal experience of addiction as both user and concerned other. It also
featured stories of recovery from three family members, who bravely chose to
break the silence associated with caring for a loved one struggling with
substance misuse and highlighted the value of accessing support. ‘I was only
interested in getting help for my son,’ said one family member. ‘The thought of
getting help for me was not something I considered. It felt selfish.’
One of the key aims of the event was to gain first-hand insight from families
and carers on how to improve services. With a wide range of professionals from
across the south west present, Reach Out was an opportunity to give loved ones
a voice where it mattered and play an active role in shaping services for others.
Rosie Phillips, DHI’s CEO, said of the event, ‘It is impossible to underestimate
the effect of addiction on families and carers of those misusing. Many suffer
anxiety, depression and poor health because of the stresses and strains in their
lives. This conference brought them together, alongside drug treatment and other
professionals, to enable them to shape services and get the best possible support.’
The
Helping your loved one by helping yourself
session worked to develop a user-
generated toolkit on regaining control of your own life and wellbeing, designed by
families and carers for families and carers. The toolkit is currently being edited and
designed and will be freely available from DHI’s website later this year.
Important suggestions for the toolkit included using case studies of family
members’ journeys through the service to give carers relatable insight into how
their situation could be improved. It was also identified that clear, easy to
understand information about the nature of addiction and the cycle of change that
helps carers understand what is happening to their loved one was crucial, and that
there needed to be greater promotion of the positive impact that looking after
yourself can have on your loved one’s chance of recovery.
The workshop was co-facilitated by Gareth Ellaway, treatment services manager
for South Gloucestershire. ‘This was an extremely positive experience for those
involved, many of whom had previously accessed our families and carers services as
clients. To now be able to turn what was for many a very harrowing experience into
something positive that may help others was clearly very empowering,’ he said.
It can take up to seven years for a family member or carer to seek help. A workshop
on first steps for families and carers asked why it took so long to access support, and
aimed to develop actions to address the situation. This session proved very popular
with families and carers, who had plenty to say regarding their own experiences.
Workshop attendees identified a number of possible reasons for the delay in
seeking help. Many families and carers had been purely focused on looking after
their loved one and had no interest in seeking help for themselves. Some had felt
they could ‘handle the situation’ within the family unit. It was only later they
realised that their concept of support may have actually enabled their loved one to
continue with their substance misuse.
The majority of participants also had no idea that support for families and
carers was available, even after numerous meetings with their local GP or hospital,
and there was a lack of general public awareness and understanding regarding the
issue that left many feeling too isolated or ashamed to seek help.
Peter Main, Bristol’s first openly gay lord mayor, also gave some insight as to
how this issue specifically affects the LGBT community. Peter’s partner died five
years ago from complications caused by alcohol dependency. ‘There is a double
stigma for members of the LGBT community affected by a loved one's alcohol use,’
said Main. ‘They must not only summon up the courage to seek help regarding
REACHING
OUT
The Reach Out
festival in Bristol
aimed to raise
awareness of
carers affected by
loved ones’
substance misuse.
DHI’s
Richard
Brookes
reports.