Substance absue among young people is a growing concern and the NCB highlights the views of leading charities from a recent conference where policy makers and other stakeholders have been urged to focus on the children's needs.
At a major national conference on Tuesday 4 December in London, an alliance of leading children’s charities called for services, practitioners and policy makers to see the child, not the drugs when it comes to substance misuse issues among children and young people.
The conference also highlighted the valuable contribution the voluntary sector has to play in preventing drug related harm among our most vulnerable children and young people, the importance of equipping children’s services so they can respond confidently and quickly to issues relating to drug use, and the devastating impact that parental drug misuse has on children’s and young people’s lives.
Coordinated by NCB and funded by the Department of Health, the Children’s Charities Working Together on Drug Prevention project is the first time an alliance like this has been formed to work on drug prevention with vulnerable children and young people.
Jo Butcher, Assistant Director, health, well-being and environment at NCB, said: ‘The alliance has shown just what can be achieved with modest investment and when we all work together.
‘The voluntary sector has a vital role in preventing drug related harm among our most vulnerable children and young people. There are over 250,000 children and young people who are coping with uncertainty, difficulty and the responsibility of adults misusing substances, quietly, with dignity and very often alone.
‘This programme demonstrates that investing in capacity building for the voluntary sector works and that it is well placed to work across the continuum, from prevention to treatment of problems.
‘On behalf of the alliance I urge Government to reflect this important learning in the new drugs strategy and to keep the spotlight on the child, not the drugs, so that it isn’t an opportunity missed.’
The conference co-chaired by Baroness Massey of Darwen and Adam Fletcher, a young person who worked on the project with NCH, will launch a new set of national resources and recommendations from the alliance’s work including practical tools from the pilot projects carried out by Barnardo’s, The Children’s Society, NCH and NSPCC.
The Children’s Charities Working Together on Drug Prevention Programme brings together for the first time a unique Alliance of 5 leading national children’s charities to work together to build the capacity of practitioners and services to respond effectively to the substance misuse needs of vulnerable young people. The Alliance, coordinated and led by National Children’s Bureau (NCB) includes NSPCC, Barnardo’s, NCH and The Children’s Society.
