‘Service users are central to everything’
Conversations at the moment often come back to feelings of anxiety and isolation, so we’re pleased to be able to keep sharing the ways you’re responding positively to the COVID situation. Forward Trust are among those looking for creative ways to engage their service user community (p10), while Open Road and Humankind are also redoubling their efforts to connect with service users and make sure no one is isolated (p16 and p22).
With lockdown likely to have a disproportionate effect on women (June issue, p9), we have an insight into domestic abuse support (p12), while Kevin Flemen looks out for young people in the summer party season with some targeted harm reduction advice (p9).
As Bill Nelles (p14) would be the first to remind us, harm reduction must stay top of the agenda so we’re pleased to see the cross-sector mobilisation to make injecting facilities a reality (p18) and to support the call for redoubled efforts on eliminating hepatitis C (p11) as World Hepatitis Day approaches on 28 July.
As one of our letter-writers points out (p20) service user involvement should be central to everything we do, so we hope you get involved with the two initiatives from the research team (p6) and PHE (p8) to bring lived experience to the heart of informing treatment.
Keep in touch claire@cjwellings.com and @DDNmagazine
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