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NEW
DRUG ABUSE CAMPAIGN TARGETED AT ASIANS
(10 March 2004)
 Specialist
Treatment Agency, Phoenix House, has launched a new campaign to
highlight the alcohol and drug abuse treatment services available
for the UK's Asian Community. A new leaflet, entitled "Combating
Drugs & Alcohol Within Your Community", available in Urdu,
Punjabi, Gujarati and Hindi, is also being rolled out. Phoenix
House hopes that the awareness campaign will help to de-stigmatise
substance misuse to encourage the Asian community to talk openly
about this issue.
Last
year, Phoenix House helped over 6000 people with chronic drug and
alcohol problems rebuild their lives across the UK. The
National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA), established
by the Government in 2001, identified diversity as one of its key
strategic objectives, recognising that significant portions of England's
diverse population are often excluded from drug treatment. The publication
of "Black and minority ethnic communities in England"
by the NTA, April 2003 provided the most comprehensive literature
review on drug use and related service provision undertaken to date.
Beverley
Prevatt-Goldstein, Head of the Black Ethnic Community Organisations
Network (BECON) has offered strong support for the campaign. Beverley
said: "The Black Ethnic Community Organisations Network (BECON)
for the North East of England, is committed to ensuring that all
our communities can influence the delivery of services, receive
quality services and be enabled to deliver services."
The
Asian community in particular tend to be a hard to reach group because
of the language barrier and their strong cultural and religious
values. Bill
Puddicombe, Chief Executive at Phoenix House said: "Drug use
affects all communities and good quality drug treatment needs to
be available to help those affected by it."
Phoenix
House is a specialist treatment agency of drug and alcohol rehabilitation
treatment services with over 33 years of experience in working with
often chaotic and socially excluded individuals. Established in
1970, Phoenix House is now the largest UK provider of residential
rehabilitation treatment services and has a wide network of community
based treatment services that offer many different treatment interventions
for people with substance misuse problems. It has treatment centres
based in London, Hampshire, Bexhill, Brighton, Sheffield, the Wirral,
Birmingham, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Glasgow, South Lanarkshire and
Aberdeen with smaller satellite services located in other regions.
For
information about Phoenix House or to obtain the 'Combating Drugs
& Alcohol Within Your Community' leaflet, visit www.phoenixhouse.org.uk.
For further help visit the 'Talk
to Frank' website.
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