We love receiving your letters at DDN. Please send your thoughts and ideas relating to any aspect of your work or personal experience – as well as your feedback on our articles – by emailing the editor, claire@cjwellings.com. Letters for publication should be up to 350 words.
Deadly Serious
I enjoyed both attending the recent DDN national service user involvement conference, and reading the coverage in the latest issue of the magazine.
Meeting and networking with some fantastic projects from around the country really opens your eyes to the innovative work that is going on, especially in the face of reduced resources.
Unfortunately while we can’t wave a magic wand to increase funding levels and improve treatment for all, challenging stigma and highlighting the human tragedy of addiction and in particular drug-related deaths is something that can be done. There are some fantastic campaigns that do this such as ‘Support Don’t Punish’ and the Remembrance Day events in July, but I would be keen to hear of any more projects or initiatives that local groups like ours can get involved in.
John Matthews, by email
If you are involved in any campaigns that challenge stigma, please let us know – ed.
Be a knockout!
We are gearing up for our fourth annual recovery games for the Yorkshire and Humber region and are looking for ways to support the event.
We usually host it at a local water park near Doncaster and it is an ideal opportunity for groups of individuals to come and participate, as well as family, friends and children. The event is based around It’s a Knockout, with groups of approximately ten taking part in trials throughout the day, with a final obstacle course race to decide the winning team.
Year on year we have seen more than 400 people attend and last year over 600 people joined us and took part in our fantastic ‘colour run’ and games.
This year we are keen to invite other organisations to help support the games, as they are a fantastic opportunity to celebrate visible recovery and tie into the ‘five ways to wellbeing’.
If you are interested in sponsoring this event, or are able to contribute in any way, please contact me on 01302 303902 or Stuart.Green@rdash.nhs.uk.
Stuart Green, service manager, Aspire
