Project 6 win national Impact Award!

PROJECT 6

For immediate release: Monday 28 February 2011

KEIGHLEY CHARITY TACKLING SUBSTANCE MISUSE BEATS 400 TO TOP CHARITY AWARD

- Recognition for West Yorkshire charity reducing harm from drugs and alcohol misuse -

Airedale Voluntary Drug and Alcohol Agency has been awarded £25,000 in recognition of the outstanding services it provides to reduce harm caused by alcohol and drug misuse. The charity beat over 400 organisations from around the UK to become one of ten winners of this year’s GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) IMPACT Awards, run in partnership with health think-tank The King’s Fund.

Set up by a group of parents, the Agency, which is also known as Project 6, outshone other entrants on the strength of its innovative approach. Its projects include a Maternity and Family Service working with pregnant drug users and their partners so their babies can be born addiction free and do not have be taken into care; and a successful initiative working with the Asian community, where substance misuse issues remain hidden due to the shame it brings among families. It also operates an alcohol intervention service based in six GP practices.

The awards - GSK’s flagship UK corporate social responsibility programme - highlight the crucial role played by the voluntary sector in meeting health needs among deprived and vulnerable communities, often bridging gaps other services are unable to fill. With NHS and local authority budgets under pressure, the awards provide a vital source of funding for the winners and play a key role in promoting innovation and good practice across the sector.

Lisa Weaks, Third Sector Programme Manager at The King’s Fund, said:

‘Project 6 thoroughly deserves an IMPACT Award. Its family integration service is unique in helping families blighted by substance misuse stay together and break the cycle of problems between generations. It has also achieved a huge amount in the Asian community, where national success rates in tackling substance misuse have been poor. This is a prime example of an organisation expanding its services in response to the needs of the community and working effectively with primary healthcare providers to do so.'

Mike Cadger, Director of Project 6, said:

‘We are delighted to have won an IMPACT Award this year. We believe it validates the innovative partnership approach we have adopted over the last few years.

Our aim has been to develop holistic, integrated service provision to meet the particular needs of our vulnerable service users. The award represents important recognition that the work of the organisation is respected and valued.

We are especially pleased to have the opportunity to use the award to further develop the skills of our team whilst, simultaneously broadening the scope of our interventions to benefit the people of Airedale.’

As well as receiving £25,000, Project 6 will attend a five-day development programme hosted by The King’s Fund, which provides training, development and networking opportunities. The programme aims to equip participating organisations with the skills to consolidate and extend their successful work. Feedback from previous winners has shown that this opportunity is as important as the award money.

One overall winner - to be announced at a ceremony in London on 12 May - will receive an additional £10,000 for their outstanding work in addressing needs of their service users.

ENDS

For more information about the GSK IMPACT Awards, run in partnership with The King’s Fund, contact Sophie Rayment, tel. 020 7307 2603.

For more information about Project 6, contact Mike Cadger, Director, tel. 01535 610180 or visit www.project6.org.uk

Supporting information

In 2009, Yorkshire and Humberside were one of two regions reported to have the highest prevalence of drug poisoning hospital admissions;
Project 6 works with individuals who have decided to make a change to their lifestyle;
Project 6 works in collaboration with the local NHS clinical service and specialist midwifery service on the Maternity and Families Project to ensure that mothers get a continuum of care - ante and post natal;
Last year, over 1500 individuals benefited from Project 6's services;
471 individuals registered for the needle exchange service, 18% of whom were from the BME community;
At the time of broadening its work to include alcohol misuse support, there were no other alcohol services in Keighley other than a specialist team who only worked with those who were accessing mental health services.

Case studies

Tom*, a South Asian man, entered Project 6 via the Drug Intervention Programme (DIP), following a positive test in police custody. At presentation, he was a poly-drug user (Heroin, Diazepam and GHB). He was supported to access a substitute opiate prescription at the local clinical provider and to engage with the specialist Asian Communities Project (ACP).

He was anxious about participating and concerned about his confidentiality in case it brought on him within his community. He was reassured by Project 6’s commitment to work with him on his own terms. The Project 6 team agreed to meet him in settings and at times of his choice. They went with him to his prescribing appointments and met him weekly to provide psychosocial support.

During this time, he developed a positive therapeutic relationship with his worker.

Six months on, he is ‘street’ drug free and is on a ‘managed reduction plan’, in respect of prescribed medication. He has completed a course of Security Training and is now ready to apply for accreditation, which will allow him to take up employment.

‘Being and Asian drug user, it is hard to access services. Seeing my worker for one to one meetings and being thoroughly supported throughout the programme helped me become street drug free. It would not have been possible to do on my own.’

*Name has been changed

Karen*, a white British woman, went to Project 6 via referral from the Domestic Violence Services (DVS) following a violent incident. At presentation, she was drinking 150 units of Alcohol each week. She accessed the project’s Structured Alcohol Treatment programme, but withdrew from DVS support. A serious assault occurred. She was encouraged to re-engage with DVS – who secured her property, facilitated civil protection orders, provided practical support and advocacy in respect of criminal proceedings. She continued to engage with Alcohol Treatment programme, accessed complementary therapies and specialist counselling - all provided by Project 6. She received additional parenting support from Project 6’s Family Support Worker, who also provided therapeutic support to her children. She has reduced her alcohol consumption to 50 units per week and is working towards being able to participate in Project 6’s Structured Recovery Programme.

*Name has been changed