Where were we? Committed to Family Values Conform to Religious prcatices Community Harmony Consistency in lifestyle Cultured with baggage

“Black people don’t use drugs” “The few that do will never inject” “It is a white western disease” “Religion prohibits drug taking - therefore it is not a problem” “If there are any Asian drug users they don’t use these services - anyway they look after themselves” “Our strong religious and cultural values stop us from this behaviour” Drug Use and Black and Minority Ethnic Communities DENIAL

Southall Community Drugs Education Project - background Over four years of work in Southall by the Centre for Ethnicity and Health, Faculty of Health University of Central Lancashire Research in West London to investigate Drug education needs of Punjabi speaking mothers (for the Department of Health) (1998/99) A drug education project developed and managed by the University for Ealing Council ( )

Southall Community Drugs Education Project - background The production of a Punjabi drug education Video based in Southall for local and national use (launched by Charles Clarke, the then Minister of State for the Home Office) Developing local people to set up and manage the Southall Community Drugs Education project Funding the project (as part of the Department of Health Needs Analysis Project) to carry out an assessment of drug issues within the South Asian Communities in Southall

Some Findings The Punjabi speaking women consulted all stated the need to have drug education information in Punjabi - Gurmukhi and Mirpuri Punjabi Existing services were patchy and over- stretched and did not meet specific cultural and language needs of various communities Communication difficulties between first, second and third generation Asians and professionals Families wanted on going drug education and work on community cohesion

Some Findings Contrary to the notion that Asian communities were immune to drug use, 80% of those asked stated that there was a drugs problem in the area with heroin being the drug of choice Young people using drugs were often unemployed, living at home placing a tremendous financial and emotional strain on families Some families paid for a private detox as a quick fix for family members addicted to heroin costing £ 3,000 to £ 5,000

Some Conclusions Early interventive work Culturally appropriate Information and education in local languages Culturally sensitive support and services Specific services for young people The need to bring together the diverse communities

Some Responses The University produced Gurmukhi and Mirpuri drug education videos (used nationally) Raised awareness of drug issues locally and nationally ( project was featured on BBC television and many language channels) Developed the community inter-actors model of drug education(being replicated in many parts of the country) by training and developing local people to disseminate drug education

Some Responses Supported over 300 families and 200 young people; young people to develop a drugs strategy for Southall both on video and on paper Developed a community development strategy to meet the training needs of local organisations Organised a national drugs conference in Southall Developed the Southall Community Drugs Education project as an independent organisation

Local and National Picture Southall and West London reflects the national picture B& ME communities are young and growing Many live in some of the most deprived areas and are more likely than the rest of the population to be poor Members of ethnic minority groups are 50% more likely to suffer from ill health than their white counterparts

Local and National Picture Disproportionately represented amongst those in medium/high security psychiatric care Four to six times more likely to be excluded from school than white pupils Over-represented at every stage of the Criminal Justice Sysytem Vulnerable to Homelessness At least twice as likely to be unemployed Five-fold increase in Muslim prison population

Local and National Picture Increasing use of Heroin, Cocaine & Crack Cocaine as first drug of choice Increasing use of alcohol among young Muslim men Use of steroids and injecting Increasing experimentation with hallucinogenic drugs Use of Private treatment Problematic use of Class A drugs among young Asian girls – links to prostitution Khat use amongst Somali and Opium use by refuge communities linked to use of Class A drugs Increasing drug issues within all communities

Local and National Picture Poor access to services Service provision not appropriate Ad-hoc & short term funding for B & ME organisations Absence of local and national needs assessments Poor monitoring especially ethnic monitoring Lack of strategic planning Needs of Parents and carers not catered for

Where does this lead to?

Community Response sharing and caring Effective consultation with and research about the impact of policies on the needs and issues concerning Black and minority ethnic communities Provision of culturally appropriate services and drug education Monitoring and evaluation of policy implementation and service delivery Robust and effective prevention initiatives

Community Response sharing and caring Community must share responsibility Ownership shared by the ‘people’ Public private shared partnerships Sharing of information and expertise

So where are we now?

Drug and Alcohol Action Programme DAAP has developed as a national programme building on the work initiated and developed by the Southall Community Drugs Education Project. It exists to eradicate alcohol and drug addiction primarily but not exclusively in the Black and minority ethnic communities by working in partnership with the voluntary, statutory, independent and corporate sector.

Drug and Alcohol Action Programme Provision of appropriate education Provision of culturally appropriate Programmes and treatment services Conducting research on addictive behaviour

Drug and Alcohol Action Programme The Programme in Southall and Acton which is funded by the New opportunities Fund as part of the Southall Healthy Living Centres initiative and by Ealing’s Joint Commissioning and Communities Against Drugs Teams will provide drug education to a number of communities.

Drug and Alcohol Action Programme Somali African-Caribbean South Asian communities including Muslim, Hindu and Sikh communities

Drug and Alcohol Action Programme Recruiting four officers to work with these communities Training local people to become community drug educators Reaching families, young people, users and ex-users Referring to appropriate services

Drug and Alcohol Action Programme Setting up local advisory panels with knowledge and expertise of the appropriate communities and of West London to support this programme Developing a database of advisers, consultants and ambassadors interested in developing and supporting projects in other areas

Drug and Alcohol Action Programme Community must share responsibility Ownership shared by the ‘people’ Public private shared partnerships Sharing of information and expertise

Drug and Alcohol Action Programme Please log your interest today What support can you offer What can DAAP offer Welcome personal, organisational and financial support