Basic HTML Version
caught, can sail through the process
untested, while the poor sod convicted
of possessing a few grams of weed or
stealing a car 20 years ago gets grilled
by complete strangers in a powerful
position in a non-therapeutic setting.
Any therapist will tell you that this can
be devastating, even relapse-inducing.
Both Unlock and
theRecord
regularly
receive mail and calls from people
who’ve been treated in this way only to
be told that a stronger candidate got
the job, so there was never any need
to put them through that part of the
interview because their record was
never actually relevant to the employer.
And even when they are successful,
they are often then faced with working
alongside people to whom they have
disclosed their convictions – the
people who interviewed them. It might
be better if such disclosures are only
ever made to HR and passed to senior
management, not colleagues, because
you never get a second chance to
make a first impression.
So, if recovery employers want to
offer an equal opportunity and run a
safe and legal service, there are just
three things they need to do. Firstly,
ask only the prime candidate about
previous convictions. Secondly, follow
that up with the appropriate level of
DBS check and, thirdly, risk assess that
candidate regardless of whether they
have a conviction or not. There are
several psychometric tests that can be
used for this in consultation with a
suitably qualified psychologist. If their
favourite candidate proves risky, then
move on to the next. It would also be
very helpful if employers would state at
the application stage which level of
DBS check is required for that specific
post. This would give the candidate an
informed choice whether to proceed
with an application or not.
Richard, editor, www.the-
record.org.uk
ONCE REMOVED
I totally agree that commissioning
needs to change dramatically in order to
provide a better service (
DDN
, June,
page 18). The work done to help people
is extremely undervalued and
underrated, the service user suffers and
the high pressure of more responsibility
puts stress levels up. This can cause
sickness and puts many workers at risk
for their own mental wellbeing. Erm
hello, is anyone actually concerned, or
are they so far removed from the
problem they have no idea?
Rachael Almond, by email
GETTING PERSPECTIVE
I am currently studying at the BRIT
School and am in the process of
producing a news show for FM and
internet broadcasting through ‘BRIT FM’.
I am producing a five-minute
package about a common issue in our
society. I see how drugs are very
incorporated into young people’s lives
and how drugs surround our youth
culture heavily.
I wish to gather a few interviews to
gain a professional perspective on the
issue – the effect of certain drugs on
performance or health, or why people
turn to drugs (both legal and illegal)
habitually. You can contact me at
frazerleonfoster@gmail.com
Frazer Foster, by email
BANANA SPLITS
I went to a few of the big debates on
abstinence versus harm reduction in
London in 2008 and 2009 and
listened to a lot of fear coming from
the floor, and anger. Paul Hayes, chief
executive of the NTA, when the
question about spirituality came up
said, ‘I don’t do spirituality’. Nearly all
the people there cheered and clapped
and I heard the person behind me say,
‘what do the 12-step lot think about
that?’ When I looked around the
person who had made the remark was
a drug worker and was laughing to
three service users from the area I
come from, who, by the way, are still in
the tier 3 system.
Harm reduction should be the first
port of call for the addict who suffers
– and I say suffers because people do
not turn up at services if everything is
alright in their life. Everyone has an
opinion, and that’s all Stanton Peele
has (
DDN
, April, page 8). Oh, and a
book to promote.
This government has it right when
they say people can recover and live
fulfilled and productive lives by turning
up to 12-step meetings without ever
stepping into the UK’s tier system.
Twelve-step meetings are where they
meet others of their kind who have a
solution which they give freely. Public
Health England are promoting that
drug services should take service
users to meetings, yet they are still
telling people that they must first do
their groups or consider applying for
detox and rehab funding.
The word recovery is not new,
though it’s thrown about and being
defined to death. Let’s hope next we
will get some expert saying ‘Bananas’
is the new buzz word –someone might
even write a book about it.
Martin Territt, by email
COMPETITION UPDATE
The first ever Global Drug Survey
drugs meter minutes video
competition (DDN, April, page 14) has
extended its entrance deadline. You
now have until 14 February 2015 to
submit a harm reduction and drug
education related video – for more
information, email
adam@globaldrugsurvey.com.
www.globaldrugsurvey.com;
www.drugsmeter.com
Adam Winstock, consultant
psychiatrist and addiction medicine
specialist, and founder of the Global
Drug Survey
We welcome your letters...
Please email them to the editor, claire@cjwellings.com or post them
to the address on page 3. Letters may be edited for space or clarity
– please limit submissions to 350 words.
Letters |
Comment
July 2014 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 11
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
‘If recovery services were truly
committed to equal opps, they
would never expect candidates
to discuss their offences at
interview because this never
gives people with convictions
the opportunity to present
themselves as equal...’