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Funding announced to provide services to families affected by drugs and alcohol 

The Scottish Government has announced £120,000 funding for a package of support measures for families in rural areas affected by drug and alcohol abuse.

It will be given to provide a small grants scheme for recovery programmes in local communities through the Lloyds Partnership Drug Initiative.

The scheme promotes voluntary sector work with vulnerable children and young people affected by substance misuse.

Additional funding has also been given for a new National Alcohol Liaison Officer within the Scottish Families Affected by Drugs (SFAD) to support the extension of the service to include alcohol as well as drugs.

Alongside this, a new pilot technology project will also be launched using web-based support and Skype to help families’ access services for substance misuse in rural and remote settings.

The announcements were made by the Minister for Community Safety Roseanna Cunningham today at an event hosted by the SFAD in Edinburgh.

Ms Cunningham said:

“I am pleased to be able to announce these further contributions in helping families deal with the daily struggles of relatives dealing with substance misuse.

“It’s vital that everyone has access to these services no matter where they live and this funding package of £120,000 will supplement the £155,000 we have already provided through the small grants fund to give communities a strong set of services to tackle the scourge of addiction.

“This government is committed to delivering funding to local organisations and making sure anyone caring for loved ones with drug or alcohol addictions has a support system in place in their own community.”

Kuladharini, Scottish Recovery Consortium Chief Executive said:

“The Recovery Initiative Fund has made a significant contribution to the spectacular rise of recovery communities in Scotland. Our partnership with Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland has been fruitful and we are both delighted to have another year with which to build recovery in Scotland. We are grateful to the Scottish Government for their continued support.”

Christine Duncan, Scottish Families Chief Executive said:

“Scottish Government support, over the past 11 years has allowed Scottish Families to represent and support families impacted by substance misuse at a level that is recognised internationally as being second to none. We have received support for diverse, evidence based programmes, including our new Tele-health programme that reaches out to families in remote and rural locations through skype and web based support.”

Notes To Editors

Background

Since 2007/8 the Scottish Government have made record investment of over £224 million in front line drug treatment and support services recognising our commitment to the significant ambition of the Road to Recovery strategy. £30.4 million is being provided to NHS Boards for frontline drug treatment services and support (including NPS) in 2014-15, this represents an increase of over 20% since 2006-07.

Prior to 2007, people with drug problems waited as long as a year for a specialist assessment alone. The Scottish Government have dramatically reduced drug treatment waiting times with more than 94% of people accessing drug services receiving treatment within 3 weeks or less - exceeding the 90% HEAT target at national level for March 2013.

The SFAD is a national organisation funded by the Scottish Government. Their remit is to develop and deliver services to support family members affected by someone’s substance misuse.

In 2012-13, the Scottish Government provided £155,000 to Lloyds Partnership Drug Initiative to support a small grants programme to fund small community based recovery programmes.

Lloyds PDI are working in partnership with Scottish Recovery Consortium to assess and fund support work in local communities