This page lists projects and activities that are looking for assistance. Please contact the project involved if you are interested in helping. If your organisation would like to advertise a project here please email the website manager. If you would like to become a volunteer in the drugs field please see the section on volunteering below.
Projects, activities and opportunities
Project on mapping joined up Public Service funded delivery for families in small geographical areas with high levels of worklessness
Liz Meek, Director of the Government Office for the North West, writing on behalf of the Government Office Network is inviting councils to submit examples of local initiatives for a project the GO Network is undertaking, with support from the LGA and Cabinet Office Social Exclusion Task Force.
This project seeks to identify public sector funded initiatives (projects, programmes, joint working practices) across Great Britain that are targeted at specific families in small geographical areas in Local Authorities with high levels of worklessness/multiple deprivation. The focus will be on initiatives that involve organising effective public services working together for these families from multiple agencies
If you or your colleagues are aware of the identity of any initiatives that would fit this brief, please contact the consultant with details by 5 p.m. on 28th May 2008.
He can be contacted as follows: Sion Jones, London Economics, Tel: 02920 660 250. Email
sjones@londecon.co.uk
Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI)
Earlier this year the CSCI were asked by the Government to look at how the system for deciding who qualifies for support from local councils could be improved. To this end, CSCI is now carrying out a major review of the eligibility criteria that councils use to decide whether or not a person receives help from the council with social care services.
You can read more about this review on the CSCI website here:
http://www.csci.org.uk/about_us/news/review_of_eligibility_criteria.aspx
And you can take part in their online survey here:
http://www.csci.org.uk/SelectSurveyASP/TakeSurvey.asp?SurveyID=3KJm732Jl771K
European Society for Social Drug Research Summer School
In Summer 2008, the European Society for Social Drug research (ESSD), in close collaboration with the Pompidoi Group of the Council of Europe, will organise an intensive training course on qualitative research on drugs for young researchers.The course will be open to twelve post-graduate students and will be held from 8th - 24th of August in Amsterdam. During this period, students will be expected to dedicate all their time to the course. The language of communication will be English.The course will cover: State of the art: existing knowledge in qualitative research.Theory and methodology: tools, research in different settings, ethics. Research proposal and design, Qualitative data and coding and analysis, Reporting to agencies and policy makers.A substantial part of the course will be dedicated to practical fieldwork and exercises.
http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/news-events/latest-news/latest-news/1003
Alcohol Education and Research Council - Studentship Scheme
The Council is offering a limited number of Studentships on a competitive basis to students who are working in the alcohol field and wish to acquire appropriate academic or professional qualifications by following a Taught Course.
The Council will pay the course fees for the successful applicants.
Applicants must be ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and intend to commence their studies at a United Kingdom institution in the 2008/09 academic year.
Closing date: Monday 23rd June
Fuller information and applications forms are available from the website www.aerc.org.ukor by contacting Andrea Tilouche at the following address:
The Alcohol Education and Research Council
Room 178,
Queen Anne Business Centre
28 Broadway
London
SW1H 9JX
Tel: 020 7340 9502
Fax: 020 7340 9505
Email: andrea.tilouche@aerc.org.uk
Adfam survey into support for families affected by substance misuse
Adfam is conducting a new study into the number of relatives of substance misusers accessing support networks in their own right. In trying to find these figures, Adfam is contacting as many family support services as possible – no matter how large or small, and throughout the UK. The information desired is very simple – just the number of families and/or family members that each service has engaged over the past 12 months or during 2007 (or calls taken for a helpline). If you work in the family support sector and your service has not yet been contacted, please email o.french@adfam.org.uk to help the study, or for further information. Survey into drug and alcohol training under way
Social workers who qualified in 2006 or 2007 are being invited to take part in a survey on drug and alcohol training.
Dr Sarah Galvani at Warwick University is looking at whether existing training is adequate and believes social workers need better support to work with substance misusers.
To take part e-mail: subuse.survey@warwick.ac.uk.
For more information please see: http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2008/02/22/107373/recruits-asked-for-views-on-substance-misuse-training.html
PhD study into the short and longer term effects of taking MDMA
Rowan Ogeil is a Ph.D. student from the School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine at Monash University in Australia. He is looking for people to complete an online questionnaite looking at the effect that social drugs (alcohol, ecstasy, cannabis) may have on biological systems that are under circadian control (follow a 24 h rhythm), such as temperature, sleep, activity and hormone release.
Find out more and participate here: http://coldfusion.its.monash.edu.au/med/spppm/questionnaires/rogeil2/
DrugScope - Helpfinder young people’s services listing
The DrugScope Helpfinder database includes services that are open to young people. The services we have listed on Helpfinder either have an upper age limit (usually 19 but can be up to 25) or provide a specialist service for young people in addition to services for adults. They include counselling, education, outreach and treatment services as well as services specifically for children of drug users.
We hope to include the list of such services in the forthcoming Essential Guide to Working with Young People with Substance Misuse Problems . We are aware, however, that the list is not exhaustive and would really appreciate your help in identifying other services that we could include.
Please check your local region’s services in this PDF list (184KB) and send any additions, amendments, corrections and deletions to Jill Cobb at jillc@drugscope.org.uk
DrugScope - 'Working with Parents' newsletter
We are working towards sending out the next edition of Working with Parents newsletter in June.
Please let us have any articles, items of news or suggestions for articles/information you would like included in the next issue.
Short articles of 200-500 words are welcome, especially if accompanied with pictures. News of events, conferences or publications are also welcome.
Please send any articles, etc to
carolm@drugscope.org.uk Volunteering in the drugs field.
Voluntary work in a practice setting is a useful starting point for any career working with drug users and is a good way of gaining experience and testing your ability and motivation for the work. To get a voluntary position you can either contact individual drugs projects in your locality directly, or contact a national umbrella organisation such as the National Centre for Volunteering.
Telephone numbers for local treatment centers can be found in our Helpfinder Database. Helpfinder is DrugScope's database of drug treatment services and provides contact information and basic service provision details for drug treatment and care services in England. It can be used to search for organisations in your area.
Other useful organisations:
National Centre for Volunteering
Volunteering England works to support and increase in the quality, quantity, impact and accessibility of volunteering throughout England.
Do It
This site provides details of volunteering opportunities throughout the UK and is powered by a large on-line database of current vacancies. Do-It allows users to search by postcode, type of organisation and type of work. The site has a section on volunteering in the drugs field.
Timebank
This BBC supported campaign gives you the opportunity to share your time and skills with your community. The site allows you to register your details in order to receive a list of organisations in your area that need help, and which match your interests.
National Association of Voluntary Service Managers
NAVSM is the national association for Voluntary Service Managers in the fields of health and social care. It has a section on opportunities for volunteers.
Society Guardian – Volunteering section
Up to date news coverage on volunteering issues from the on-line version of The Guardian newspaper.
