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Tackling Drugs Saving Lives Awards - National Winners Announced

23 May 2006

National Drug Worker and National Drug Team of the Year 2006 announced by Drugs Minister Vernon Coaker at ceremony in Westminster

The Home Office has today announced the names of the two overall winners of the Tackling Drugs Changing Lives Awards 2006. The Drug Worker and Drug Team of the Year were picked from over 300 entries from across England and Wales. Both winners have received £10,000 for their organisation.

David Gordon, harm reduction coordinator at the Swaythling Clinic in Southampton has been named as National Drug Worker of the Year 2006 for his work managing the local needle exchange and for his tireless efforts to provide support for service users.

Cyswllt Ceredigion Contact, the Aberystwyth Day Service providing vital help, advice and support for drug misusers and their families, has won the title of National Drug Team of the Year 2006.

Home Office Drugs Minister Vernon Coaker said:

"These awards were set up to recognise those who are taking direct positive action to tackle drug issues in their local community. We have seen some sterling examples of innovative projects that are making a real difference to people's lives. Both winners show a standard of commitment and dedication that consistently goes above and beyond the call of duty to support both individuals and their communities. Tackling drugs is one this Government's top priorities and whilst we are making progress, we must do more. Drug-related crime was down 12% in the year to April 2005, but we need to bring this down further. Numbers entering treatment are up by 89% since 1998 but we need to get to more drug misusers into treatment. Working with the inspiration people I have met today, I am determined to create safer, stronger communities free from the menace of drug misuse".

Martin Barnes, Chief Executive of DrugScope and one of the awards judges, said:

"We had an incredibly high standard of entry for the awards. David stood out because of his clear dedication to helping those he works with and the real impact he's having on the local community.

"The team, headed by Maureen Fyffe, is not only an outstanding example of a service providing vital support to those affected by drugs, but also illustrates the importance of drug services working alongside other support services such as the NHS, Citizen's Advice Bureaux and housing agencies to provide the best possible service for drug misusers."

The two national winners were chosen from among 20 regional finalists - a regional team and individual winner in each of the English regions and Wales.

 

The regional team winners, also recognised at today's awards ceremony, are:

Region	Team Winners
East	Norfolk, The Clockwise Centre, Essex
East Midlands	SPODA, Chesterfield
London	Health E1 Homeless Medical Centre
North East	ESCAPE, Family Support, Northumberland
North West	Addaction Cumbria Structured Day Care Team
South East	Brighton Oasis Project
South West	Gloucestershire Young People's Substance Misuse Service
Wales	Cyswllt  Ceredigion Contact, Aberystwyth
West Midlands	The Manor Hotel, Walsall
Yorkshire and the Humber	Dads Against Drugs, Hull

 

The regional individual winners, also recognised at today's awards ceremony, are:

Region	Individual Winners
East	Diane Barlow,Peterborough Community Drug Team
East Midlands	Andrea Fox, The Drop Inn, Belper
London	Perminder Dhillon, Drug and Alcohol Action programme, Middlesex
North East	Sharyn Charlton, South Tyneside Drug Action Team
North West	Laura Brown, The Maden Children's Centre, Lancashire
South East	David Gordon, Swaythling Clinic
South West	Andy Wright, Shaw Trust, PROGRESS2WORK, Wiltshire
Wales	Bradley Fellows, West Glamorgan Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse
West Midlands	Noreen Oliver (nee Langan), Burton Addiction Centre
Yorkshire and the Humber	Dads Against Drugs, Hull

 

Other drugs events happening on National Tackling Drugs Day are:

Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden and Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan will be in London to raise funds to prevent young people from misusing drugs and to promote effective prevention work worldwide. Queen Silvia will be hosting a royal gala to be held at the National History Museum in London on the evening of 23 May. It has been organised by drugs prevention charity Mentor UK.

Finally, FRANK, the drugs helpline, will celebrate its third birthday.


-ENDS-

For further information on the awards contact:
Suzannah Ritch or Ayesha Bharmal at Fishburn Hedges on 020 7839 4321

For general information about the Drugs Strategy contact:
Lis McColl at the Home Office on 020 7035 3835

Notes to Editors:

• The Tackling Drugs Changing Lives Awards ceremony was held today at 1 Great George Street, London and was presented by Home Office Drugs Minister Vernon Coaker MP and BBC Breakfast news presenter Dermot Murnaghan.
• The Tackling Drugs Changing Lives campaign communicates the Government’s Drug Strategy and demonstrates the impact it is having on communities across the country. There are four main strands to the Strategy:

1. Prevention – reduce the use of Class A drugs and the frequent use of any illicit drug by all young people under the age of 25, especially the most vulnerable.
2. Treatment – increase the numbers of problematic drug users in treatment by 100% by 2008, and increase year on year the proportion of users successfully sustaining or completing treatment.
3. Tackling supply – generate a sustained impact on the supply of Class A drugs into the UK, while working to tackle ‘local’ dealers and the availability of drugs in local communities.
4. Reducing drug-related crime – substantially increase the number of drug-misusing offenders entering treatment through the Criminal Justice System.

• There are 149 local Drug Action Teams/Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnerships responsible for delivering the Drug Strategy. Their work aims to tackle supply, target young people to prevent them becoming tomorrow’s drug users, get more people into treatment and reduce the fear of crime that drug misuse can cause. Direct annual expenditure on tackling drugs has risen from just over £1.3 billion in 2004/05 to almost £1.5 billion in 2005/06.
• For more information about what the Government is doing to tackle drugs visit: www.drugs.gov.uk.
• Queen Silvia will be hosting a royal gala to be held at the National History Museum in London on the evening of 23 May. It has been organised by the drugs prevention charity Mentor UK and its international arm, the Mentor Foundation, of which Queen Silvia is President, to coincide with National Tackling Drugs Day.

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