Activities - Drugline Lancashire

Project description and activities

Key areas

Open Access Volunteering: Help-line

The telephone helpline remains for many the first point of contact for service users. It remains open to users, carers and workers concerned with drug use. The helpline covers all drug use, whether legal or illegal, and at experimental, recreational and dependent levels of use. The helpline offers ease of access for both Lancashire and Blackpool Open Access services, ensuring the area dedicated lines offer extended hours and ease of access to treatment support with initial support and appointment booking opportunities up to 9.30 pm on weekday evenings

Face to Face Counselling – Centre based

Service users who wish more on-going help can, through an appointment system, receive confidential counselling. The service is open to users and carers; involving individual and family based counselling. This service is staffed by qualified counsellors and offered in both Blackpool and Preston sites.

Drugline-Lancashire continues to monitor issues and trends arising from both the telephone helpline and face-to-face counselling in order to inform and develop its service delivery.

Face to Face Counselling – Community

Due to the nature of drug use it was recognised by the service over 12 years ago the importance of taking support services to the people, especially those with added challenges e.g. homelessness or with specific issues e.g. race or age. Sensitivity being made and ensuring support is available directly in e.g. homeless drop in and young peoples centres and spaces and faith venues

Befriending project –

The drug user´s Befriending Project at Drugline Lancashire Ltd. is the only one of it´s kind in Lancashire is available in Preston and Blackpool.

The rationale of the Befriending Project is to actively encourage the inclusion of drug users in our community by enabling them to participate in community activities with a trained volunteer who can offer help and support regarding their personal development.

Needle/Syringe Exchange Service –

In Preston the service has further extended, noting with the close of the Preston CDT facility following their move to Bickerstaff House. Initially begun as an evening service, the provision is now 12 hours per day, five days a week, and is increasingly being favoured as a town centre access point .Health education had remained a priority for the service with continued utilisation e.g. Safer Injecting practice information, Overdosing, and HIV, Hepatitis B and C harm minimisation. Further promoting BBV support at Preston CDT and also as allowing safe engagement with service users over a pharmacy facility abilities allowing encouragement for the treatment naive to access Open Access opportunities for assessment and treatment engagement. The service was also pleased in October 2006 to launch a comparable service in its Blackpool Centre mirroring all the facilities offered at Preston but as an independent service compared to the Preston service being in partnership with LCT. This has required extensive development of evidenced practice working contained within its Needle Exchange Manual to meet the requirements of Be safe Blackpool, further the service has purchased its own stock and managed waste disposal, the former allowing the piloting of new products for Blackpool and the service also allowing for greater monitoring of service users and their needs.

Materials utilised within the Preston needle exchange include:

OD, Produced by Drugscope
Guide To Safer Injecting, Produced by HIT
UYB: A Quick And Safer Alternative To Injecting, Produced by HIT
The Safer Injecting Handbook, Produced by Drugscope
Not Just Syringes: Information For Drug Injectors, Produced by HIT
Get Ready: Health Information For Women Who Use Drugs, Produced by HIT
Drugs And The Law, Produced by HIT
Hepatitis: Causes, Consequences And Advice, Produced by HIT
Injecting And Infections: What You Need To Know, Produced by NTA
B3: 3 Free Jabs Give You Protection Against Hepatitis B, produced by Drugscope
OD999, Produced by Lancashire Drug Action Team

Blackpool (new service for the year) offering materials on:

Drugline service leaflets

Open Access
Sexual Health services
Homlessness
Stimulant Services
Family Support service

Drugline information leaflets

Amphetamines, Cannabis, Cocaine, Ecstasy, Heroin etc

Be safe – Reducing drug related deaths

Bacterial Infection and Injecting Drug Use.(Information for those who inject Heroin & Crack)
If the Drugs don’t get you…The alcohol might.(Information about combining Drugs and Alcohol)
Overdose Know the risks and how to reduce themLife Line Publications

Lifeline Publications

When Things GO WRONG – injecting problems & how to cope
Going in the GROIN – injecting in the femoral vein

FRANK – (Life saving information for people waiting for drug treatment)

Injecting and infections – What you need to know
OVERDOSE – Everything you need to know
Staying Alive AFTER A BREAK low tolerance high risk
Staying Alive OVERDOSE protect and survive

FRANK - Find out more about BBV

Booklet - There are some things you should never share with anyone

Leaflets about using:

Vitamin C ∼ Vit C
Citric Acid ∼ Citric
Don’t Touch If you find a used needle or syringe? DON’T TOUCH IT!!
Dig – Guide to your veins
Injecting – Up your Bum

TRUE VISION

Tackling crime against - RACE & RELIGION
Being Gay is NOT a crime – HATE CRIME IS

Mandatory training for all staff and volunteers supporting the service has been assured in both Preston and Blackpool. The course content includes safer exchange practice, harm reduction messaging, awareness of signposting opportunities and effective engagement with needle exchange service users. On successful completion of the training attendees are awarded a specific badge identifying their competence in this area of working. With the increased emphasis for Blood Borne Virus developments, joining the drugs and sexual health agenda as evidenced in the area Harm Reduction Forums the importance of effective needle exchange services is a key priority in Lancashire and Blackpool with note that BBV issues are now monitored under NDTMS. The service is in prime position to support both this agenda and practice.

Initial Care Plan Support

With the development of Open Access services in Blackpool, Preston, Chorley, South Ribble and West Lancashire the importance of the initial contact as not only an opportunity for assessment and referral but importantly a period of dedicated support to ensure client retention. This supported by a dedicated volunteer team in Preston and Blackpool keeping in regular contact with service users, encouraging appointment access, identifying changes in situations and advocating support to meet their holistic needs. The volunteering aspect of the Open Access project lies within accredited learning projects for volunteers supported in 2006/7 on both Blackpool and Preston sites by The Tudor Trust, LDAT, Preston VCFS Grant and Community Fund respectively. The accredited volunteer learning allowing the assurance of a representative work force for the substance use workers of tomorrow with access to a level 3 and bespoke level 2 accredited learning package from OCN and practice opportunities through Open Access services, Dance Drug safety outreach and commitment to specialised Drugline services e.g. Young Carers or Complimentary Therapies

Open access Worker led

To meet most effectively Models of Care across Blackpool and Lancashire Preston and Blackpool volunteering led services of helpline, drop-in, counselling, information , needle exchange and befriending are now defined as Open Access Centres. In both towns supporting tier 2 and access to tier 3 services. This enhanced in Blackpool and LDAT South area (Preston, Chorley, South Ribble and West Lancashire dedicated posts to lead on Triage Assessment for all service users and offering Interim Care Planning support. This model assuring best ease of access for service users requiring drugs treatment, and through their holistic as well as substance misuse needs identified a 12 week window of support to allow best likelihood of retention in treatment and the broader issues supported

Drugs Education and Training

External Provision:

Drugline projects use multiple workshop, education and training techniques and utilises various bespoke substance misuse focussed training packages and tools, regularly updated and reviewed. Young people’s education delivery has been standardised with uniformed learning objectives and education packages. A particular emphasis has been around alcohol. Adult training is equally standardised combining key project messages e.g. stimulants, alcohol , recreational drug and alcohol use issues for venues with service awareness and access including awareness of Models of Care . Provision for events is open on request to those projects offering such learning within their remits.

2006/7 saw the development of the Sexual Health Trainer project for Blackpool with the launch of accredited training in clinical and non clinical settings embracing learning in Sexual Health (HIV, STIs and Hepatitis) with the pending developments of sexual health Training the Trainers and Assertiveness for 2007/8.

2007/8 will see the launch of the Drugline Trainer project allowing the retention of in house accredited learning in substance use for staff and volunteers (level 2 and 3), the development of a level 1 learning for service users, the offering of level 2 and 3 learning to external agencies, the development of bespoke learning for services and commerce and the launch of a programme of training events embracing substance use and related issues learning.

Volunteering:

The service prides itself on the provision of induction and on-going training to its volunteer workforce. This is inclusive of induction courses to cover volunteer led activity e.g. helpline, needle exchange, befriending, with regular monthly training events and specialist training opportunities e.g. Complementary Therapies and Stimulants. These are provided internally, but volunteers also have access to external local training events.

Opportunities for volunteer development are supported by regular supervision, annual appraisal, group meetings and social events. Further the service recognises the length of service of individual volunteers with a special awards badge after 5 years service and after particular training e.g. needle exchange. All volunteers at Drugline receive a service badge to ensure they feel a crucial part of the organisation and this reinforced with particular celebrations around Volunteer Week.

Accredited learning for volunteers has proven most successful across Preston and Blackpool sites. The level 3 course following an academic year. This allowing greater employability for volunteers as they hold a DANOS compliant qualification (Practitioner Skills in the Management of Substance Misuse) and increases their employability whilst supporting the local and national challenge of the lack of drug workers to meet the needs of expanding services. The bespoke level 2 course offering a step from Induction training to the level 3 and allowing recognised learning married with practice.

Volunteer recruitment ensuring its targets harder to reach groups inclusive of BME, LGBT and people residing in areas of social and economic deprivation, plus younger people and those affected by drug use.

The Xmas event has now become something of a tradition and once again proved extremely popular with this year the wonderful opportunity of a combined area event at Funny Girls Christmas show.

The Volunteer handbook remains as offering infrastructure support to this aspect of the service.

Staff:

The service actively promotes staff development and ensures all team members have access to all internal training initially established for volunteer workers. Access to conferences and external learning is also encouraged and also peer learning and learning sharing utilising Team Meetings, Project Groups, Corporate Plan Task Groups and Team Days. The team has taken up training opportunities provided by various local and national providers to meets needs identified in supervision or appraisal and mirroring the demands for continual learning required with the changing face of drugs use and the skills required to ensure effective service delivery. Ongoing capacity building opportunities therefore ensuring national compliant working e.g. Models of care, DANOS, QUADS and NDTMS and new initiatives as TOPS. Further the staff utilise joint operational meetings or opportunities with the Substance Misuse Services partners in Blackpool and Lancashire.. This again allowing more cascade training opportunities, building confidence in integrated service working and is further enhanced by membership and attendance of specialist operational fora. Further enhancing learning opportunities and ensuring best working together.

The 2006/7 period remained focused on ensuring working towards DANOS compliance for the staff combining DANOS compliant job descriptions development and opportunity for all staff to obtain the ‘Advanced certificate in drug misuse practitioner skills’ through the partnership with Merseyside Open College and Volunteer Accredited Learning projects and with the final development of a Health and Safety Module the assurance of staff compliance for FDAP accreditation.

Drugs Awareness Materials

The production and distribution of information materials and the creation of leaflets and other materials are a high priority for the project. These are continually reviewed, updated and expanded to meet the needs of the local community as well as current trends in drug use. An audiotape for those with visual impairment remains in development and the core publication Drugs The Facts will be updated for 2007/8.

Dance Drug Safety materials have been further developed to mirror the expansion of the project working and covering issues from drug use, sexual health and personal safety. Materials cover sexuality specific materials, Safer Sex materials and Sexual Safety materials, drug driving issues and specific issues of concern for venues e.g. drink spiking. Target drop cards on each dance drug have been utilised and also stickers, carrier bags, matches, sweets and condoms to best aid the projects. Specific materials have been produced and utilised for key promotions e.g. Christmas, Valentines Day and Blackpool Pride.

Materials developed and utilised include:

DANCE DRUG SAFETY MATERIALS DEVELOPED AND UTILISED:

10 commandments of dance
Silver Safety Cards
Positive and Aware
Sweet bags
Sexual health door knob card
Sexual Health Materials Postcards
Sexual Health Suck Safely Poster
Sexual Health Beer Mat
GHB Drug Spiking Bottle Top Cards
Drug Spiking Cocktail Sticks
Carrier Bags
Dance Safety Stickers
Dance Safety T´Shirts
Dance Safety Sweets and Rock
Dance Drug Safety Posters
TOP TEN TIPS:
Ectasy
Cocaine
Cannabis
Ketamine
Speed
Alcohol
GHB
Drug Rape Drop Card
Drug Rape Sticker
Drug Licencee Poster for Venues
Volunteering Drop Card
Matches
Drug Driving Leaflet
Ketamine and GHB Venue Guide
Volunteer leaflet
Venue Drink Spiking Napkins
Tips for a Top Night Out
Sharing Equipment Drop Card – cocaine ⁄Infection
World AIDS Day Drop Card
Dance Drug Safety Pen
Dance Drug Safety Bugs
Dance Drug Safety Advertisement Banner
Personalised Record Outreach Bags
Sexual Health Drop Card
Drink Spiking and Drug Rape Drop Card
THEMED OUTREACH: Christmas Crackers, Valentines Packs, Easter Campaign
Binge Drinking Drop Card
Mixing Drugs Drop Card
Keeping yourself safe whilst on holiday drop card
Volunteer Fleeces for outreach
Blackpool advertisement board
Drug Rape and Drink Spiking Action Drop Card

Preston Alcohol Outreach project materials (new for 2006/7)

Drop Cards
Top Ten Tips – Alcohol GHB Safer Tips, Binge Drinking, Mixing Drugs, Top Night Out
Alcohol & Dignity
Alcohol & Kids
Alcohol & Staying In
Alcohol & Violence

Drop cards were offered within fun packs containing condoms and sweets.

Door Hangers

Spiked

Stickers

Drug Rape

T – Shirts worn by outreach volunteers

The Alcohol Project

Additional materials were developed specifically for the Valentines Theme Night including Posters, Stickers and The Alcohol Project Screen Display. A comprehensive bar materials and resource package reinforcing key messages comprises of:

Beer Mats
Cocktail Sticks
Matches
Posters
Stickers
The Alcohol Outreach Project Screen Display
Training Package for licensees, management and staff

Blackpool Dance Drug Safety new for 2006/7

Venue toilets-use the venue loos not the street-don’t empty your wallet as well as your bladder!
Polish language A5 booklet targeting alcohol awareness and drink driving.
Polish two sided drop card covering: alcohol awareness, drug awareness, un wanted pregnancies, drink/drug driving and crime stoppers.
Altn8-Dignity drop card
Altn8-Changing your habits drop card
Altn8-Staying in is the new going out drop card
Altn8-What are your kids doing whilst you are out? drop card
SWOSS Polish language poster for the project
SWOSS Polish language drop card for the project
Blackpool Guide, 15 page booklet for a safer holiday in Blackpool

A noticeable utilisation has also been the materials around stimulants mirroring the support required within the Stimulant Services to ensure service beneficiaries are best informed of the substances and effects Crack

Craving Rocks and Craving Knowledge, What’s on Offer- service leaflet
The little book of crack cocaine-information leaflet
Crack use and Infections, Hepatitis, HIV.TB- Information leaflet
Crack Cravings- information leaflet
Crack, use Reducing the risk- information leaflet
Detox and beyong, Information for Crack users – information leaflet
Harm reduction Tips – Information flyer
Craving Rocks and Craving Knowledge – drop card
Craving Rocks and Craving Knowledge – service poster

Cocaine

The Little Book of Cocaine – information leaflet
Cocaine Use Reducing The Risks
Cocaine Cravings – information leaflet
Cocaine Overdose, reducing the risks – information leaflet
Cocaine Use and Infections, hepatitis, HIV,TB – information leaflet
Detox and Beyond, information for cocaine users – information leaflet
Cocaine and Alcohol, What you should know

Stimulant Materials

Little book of Amphetamine
Little book of Ecstasy
Little book of Ketamine
Little book of Methamphetamine
Complimentary Therapies
Stimulant Service

Drugs The Facts A5 booklet in the period has also proved a most useful and compact resource Various routes are utilised to distribute information inclusive of networking partners, exhibitions, outreach activity and centre availability. Main routes being requests from the help-line, from users, carers, workers and students.

Stimulant Working

Stimulant working in Blackpool, Preston and South West Lancashire is now an integral part of Drugline’s service provision. Established in 2002 initially targeting Crack Cocaine use the last 18 months have seen this provision extended to full stimulant service provision in response to a growing demand on the service to work with users of amphetamine and other stimulants. The stimulant projects across both DAT areas are able to meet the needs of stimulant users effectively and have the flexibility to respond to the changing needs of stimulant drug users including presentation of methamphetamine. The Stimulant Projects are funded by Blackpool and Lancashire Drug Action Teams.

The Crack Projects were set up in response to growing evidence both locally and nationally of an increase in problematic Crack Cocaine use and a lack of service provision to meet the needs of this client group.

The projects were among 11 projects nationwide being piloted by the National Treatment Agency. As such they were closely monitored between April 2003 and October 2004. Drugline’s Crack services were developed in line with existing effective service provision following thorough research. The piloting has provided the projects with the opportunity to incorporate specific treatment tools to further enhance provision. The piloting has involved interviews with project workers, clients and referral agencies. It has also involved the provision of training for Crack Project workers and consultation sessions with C.O.C.A., an agency which supports Crack Project workers in the UK. The piloting has now finished report published recently but with some disappointment as dexpite all the contributions of the service it is without mention though it is one of the very few that survived the pilot period.

The Stimulant Projects are now recognised as the main point of contact by agencies and clients in Blackpool, Preston, South and West Lancashire. The projects provide a range of services to meet the needs of stimulant users at any point in their use, thereby challenging the impact of stimulant use on individuals, families and communities. The projects work in partnership with other agencies when appropriate to ensure the best standards of client care are achieved. Also on offer is training and consultancy to other professionals who may come into contact with stimulant use.

As well as one to one appointments with client, several weekly Drop-Ins are provided, including evening Drop-Ins in both Preston and Blackpool. Auricular Acupuncture is also provided from the Preston centre three times a week on a drop in basis. The service recognises the need to be flexible to effectively engage with this client group and as such Drop-Ins are held in the community to increase opportunities for clients to access the service. In addition to auricular Acupuncture, Electro Stimulation Therapy and Indian Head Massage are also available to clients.

Both of the Stimulant Projects have been working closely with all of the criminal justice (DIP) and other partner agencies to enable the effective delivery of national and local strategies including Community Safety Strategies, Drug Intervention Programmesand Models of Care working as directed by the National Treatment Agency.

The Stimulant Projects actively engage with marginalised groups in the community including sex workers, homeless individuals, women, black and minority ethnic groups, those in prison and those with mental health issues.

The projects are continually developing to meet needs locally and in line with national standards. Accessibility and flexibility have been key to engaging effectively with crack cocaine and stimulant users. Over the coming year Blackpool, Preston and South & West Lancashire Stimulant Project will be looking at how it can continue to provide accessible and flexible service provision whilst maintaining a high quality service provision to all Stimulant using clients. The projects are now one of only a handful of agencies nationally that are listed by C.O.C.A. as providing an effective service to this client group.

The project in 2006/7 had 657 client contacts in Preston, South and West Lancashire and 377 in Blackpool.

A comprehensive range of literature available covering all aspects of Crack and Cocaine and stimulant use from harm reduction tips to De-Tox information and outlining the services available in Preston, Blackpool and South & West Lancashire.

Stimulant Drop-Ins and Community Working 2006/7 Preston and South Lancashire:

Unity Centre – Streetlink, 8pm-10pm – Wednesday fortnightly

Drugline, Preston-Auricular Acupuncture: -

12pm – Mondays
5.30pm – Wednesdays
12pm – Fridays

Preston Substance Misuse Service, Thursdays 12pm-5pm
Ribbleton Children’s Centre, Tuesdays 1pm-3pm
NHS Walk in Centre, Skelmersdale, Tuesdays 10am-4.30pm
Inward House Chorley, Wednesday 10am-4.30pm
Leyland Substance Misuse Service Thursday 10am-4.30pm

Blackpool:

Drop ins are being re-launched in 2007/8 at Addaction Structured Day Care, CDT and Tower

Community Development and Young Peoples working

Community Development and Young Peoples Working has been an important aspect of Drugline’s work, developing over the last twelve years when the service first employed a part time Community Development Worker based in Preston in 1995. For 2006/7 the work in Lancashire targeting young people came to an end in September 2006 with the transfer of services to Addaction following an LDAT Tendering process. From April to September the work was staffed by a strong team covering Preston, Wyre, Fylde, Chorley, South Ribble and West Lancashire. The work encompassing not just geographical boundaries but specific needs, e.g.: young homeless, vulnerable young people, young people and capacity building drugs project. The projects and workers were well established and able to focus their areas of work to particular need. Blackpool young peoples working has remained with the service equally supported by Comic Relief and Blackpool Children’s services. The Vulnerable young Peoples position from May 2006 working in close partnership and in shared accommodation with all young people workers in Blackpool offering support to substance affected and vulnerable young people under the banner of the HUB.

Within the young peoples working across the areas the importance in 2006/7 of the developments of the Every Child Matters agenda, including the CAF, Contact Point and Children’s’ Trust has been assured with appropriate meeting attendance, training opportunities and documentation feedback.

Within adult working the importance of a community focus remains with notable commitment to target vulnerable peoples to ensure equitable access to support. This is most noticeable with the Blackpool Homeless and Drugs position and under SHIVER the new LGBT Community Development Worker post for Blackpool.

The work takes with it the philosophy and practice of the centre based work but concentrates on the needs of the designated community, the using and non-using residents, offering support to develop empowering strategies, advocating for users and identifying emerging needs in communities.

Drug users have increasingly encountered problems associated with their drug use and often-chaotic lifestyles. The service has implemented services in the communities in order to meet these needs, targeting interventions to the specific needs of the area and client and not negating the needs of the surrounding non-using community.

The service implements a case worker approach following Models of Care and HAS guidelines to ensure active assessment, intervention and referral interventions. Interventions provided include education, training, information sharing, sessional community provision, development of training packages, specialist community interventions, active networking and partnership working, outreach work, befriending, mentoring, assessing, advocating, structured case working and referrals.

The period saw the active continuation and development of partnership working, sessional based community and outreach work support, the regular staffing of drop-in sessions, allowing direct access to, in particular, young people, vulnerable people and the homeless, peoples recognised as often marginalized from service provision. Targeted partnerships including the Urban Exchange- Preston Young Peoples Centre, Blackpool Homeless Action Team, Main Junction, Street Link/Safelink Sex Workers Projects and Blackpool SWOSS.

The service has recognised partnership working as an effective method for drugs work and allowing a unique opportunity to recognise unmet needs and develop new and innovative learning.