Bristol Drugs Project was delighted to be recognised with two nominations in the Golden Key Great Practice Awards which were held for the first time this year.
BDP received nominations for its part in Bristol’s multiagency outreach and wet clinic team thanks to Darlene Wheeler. Jasmine Lawrie (BDP) was nominated alongside Stephen Pratt (Golden Key) for the partnership between Golden Key and BDP to deliver training to staff working in local cafes, bars and other venues.
The awards have been setup to celebrate the people working hard to improve services and outcomes for people with complex needs. They recognise the good work taking place around Bristol to provide better support to the most vulnerable people in the community.
Talking about the awards Maggie Telfer, CEO of Bristol Drugs Project said…
Bdp was delighted not only to have two nominees in the very first Golden Key Great Practice Awards but to have our very own Rising Voices adding their special sound to the event. Our nominations were for training Jasmine & Stephen have developed and delivered; and for Darlene’s exceptional work with partner BrisDoc and St Mungo’s, running Bristol’s Wet Clinics for people who are alcohol dependent, who otherwise couldn’t access services. We were also really pleased that the award went to … Michael Ward from the DWP… who we’ve worked closely with on mitigating the impact of Universal Credit for our service users.
BDP’s Nominations for Organisations Working Together
Bristol’s multiagency outreach and wet clinic team
This is an initiative that has taken services to people and lowered barriers to treatment. This combined team of outreach workers from St Mungos, Assertive Outreach workers from BDP and a GP from the Homeless Health Service engages homeless people with there and then harm reduction services (needle exchange, naloxone, wound care) and opens routes to emergency accommodation and wider health and substance misuse treatment systems. It is called a wet clinic as unusually people are allowed to bring their alcoholic drinks onto the premises and therefore opens up services to those who are alcohol dependent and often homeless, meaning they need to keep their belongings (including their alcohol) on them. Human relationships forged through practical interventions in environments with the lowest possible thresholds have reduced barriers to starting longer term health, psychosocial and housing interventions. Staff have started using the Blue Light Project as part of this for the first time in Bristol. This is a manualised suite of interventions designed to start the very steps in helping people to address long term and entrenched alcohol problems.
The sum of work carried out by this innovative team is greater than their individual components in connecting people with complex needs to housing, health and substance misuse. Such was the success and popularity of the first wet clinic at the Wild Goose café that a second wet clinic is now open at the Compass Centre run by the same team of professionals.
Jasmine Lawrie (BDP) & Stephen Pratt (Golden Key)
The second nomination was for a partnership between Golden Key and BDP, to deliver training to staff working in local cafes, bars and other venues, who are affected by anti-social behavior of customers in their workplaces. These difficult situations are often associated with poor mental health and / or substance misuse issues.
The training provides staff with drug and alcohol awareness and provides a psychological understanding of challenging behavior through learning about mental health, personality disorders and trauma informed approaches to understanding these.
Golden Key and BDP believe this is the first time this type of training has been designed for people working in the hospitality industry affected by anti-social behavior in their workplace, rather than for staff whose role is to support people with complex needs.
Based on the principles of Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE), staff are trained to work together reflectively when incidents occur, and how to take care of their own and each other’s wellbeing during an after incidents.
The first training session was given to staff from The Canteen at Hamilton House in Stokes Croft in November 2018.
Talking about the evening Jasmine Lawrie said:
I’m really honoured to be nominated, and especially in the category for partnership work. I think that in the current climate of austerity this collaborative work is especially important in the care of vulnerable people. The evening was lovely, the choir was superb and I nearly ate my weight in profiteroles! Thank you golden key.
BDP Creative Communities support adults affected by alcohol and other drugs in Bristol. Their recovery orchestra, choir, drama and art groups come together to connect, play and express themselves.
This year’s Spring Showcase was to be held on 30th March at The Trinity Centre, but was inevitably cancelled due to coronavirus.
Titled ‘Taking Flight’ the show was about new beginnings and survival. This 3 minute film combines footage and audio from our last rehearsals before the lockdown. We hope you enjoy watching it! We look forward to beginning again.
Having BDP’s Creative Community available at this current time of great stress, difficulty and worry, is hugely comforting and supportive.
BDP are still connecting with our fantastic Creative Community members, who are spreading positivity and support to each other through our social networks. We would like to thank each and everyone one of our members and our team of freelancer artists, staff and volunteer for putting themselves out there every week and for continuing to support each of us.
“It’s almost impossible not to relate everything to the ‘present climate’. If the groups are an escape or respite from the struggles of addiction, could they not also be a respite from this pandemic. That’s what I’d like to see.”
With thanks to our funders Arts Council England, The National Lottery Community Fund and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. BDP are still connecting with our Creative Community members, who are spreading positivity and support to each other through our social networks.
In one months time, we celebrate BDP’s 34th Birthday with a special Open Doors series of talks and exhibitions.
On March 10th 1986 BDP first opened its doors. 34 years later, we are celebrating our anniversary by opening our doors and inviting professionals, academics and partner organisations to a range of presentations and exhibitions exploring our work at BDP.
There will be the opportunity to attend up to three sessions throughout the morning – delving into the whys and hows behind a range of BDP services.
Afterwards, join us for our closing words and delicious free lunch, where our Rising Voices Recovery Choir will treat us to a performance and we will say thank you to our departing trustee of many years, John Prior.
NOTE: We wish to welcome a diverse selection of professional organisations and academics to attend. If we receive a disproportionate amount of registrations from any organisation, or unsuitable registrations, we will be in contact to find a resolution.
If you are not a member of a professional organisation or academic, you are welcome to attend our monthly Behind The Scenes.
It’s National Apprenticeship Week, so we catch up up with one of our current BDP Trainees to find out how their traineeship is going so far…
How did you hear about the Traineeship?
I started off as a volunteer at BDP. When I saw that the Traineeship was advertised I thought I’d take the opportunity to apply. Regardless of the outcome it would be OK, as I would still be a apart of BDP.
What experiences have you gained as a Trainee?
As a trainee you get to work in a variety of different BDP services, working with clients with all different backgrounds, alongside experienced and very supportive colleagues. I have also had the opportunity to work towards a College course.
What do you enjoy about the Traineeship at BDP?
I enjoy being part of a team, whether that’s working in the Engagement Team or over in Shared Care and with the Community Detox Link workers. It’s great to have the opportunity to be involved in drop-in sessions run by BDP like Women’s Morning, going to the Wet Clinics, and visiting hostels on outreach.
What will you take away from your time as a Trainee?
Being a BDP Trainee is an amazing opportunity, and taking on new responsibilities has helped my confidence grow. I now know I am capable to do great things, where before I didn’t always feel like I was good enough.
What’s the next step for you?
Since being a Trainee I have gained the confidence to apply for a job vacancy at BDP. I have recently been offered a job with the BDP Youth Team, which was my dream when I first started volunteering here. I am really looking forward to starting the next step of my journey at BDP, which couldn’t have been possible without the Traineeship.
National Apprenticeship Week is an annual week-long celebration of apprenticeships across England and is a time to recognise and applaud apprenticeship success stories across the country.
To celebrate Dry January, our Prism service hosted an LGBT+ Dry Bar.
Launched in November last year, Queers Without Beers is Bristol’s new alcohol-free LGBTQI+ social night and mindful drinking movement which have been entertaining people across London and Manchester for the past few years. The pop-up dry-bar was launched in Bristol in partnership between Club Soda and BDP’s LGBT+ support service Prism.
Queers Without Beers is a night that doesn’t revolve around booze, attracting a range of people; those that have never drunk, didn’t want alcohol that night, are looking to change their drinking habits, or have actively quit drinking. The social night stocks a range of exciting and quality alcohol-free and ultra-low alcohol drinks (maximum 0.05% ABV).
It is a great night out where everyone is welcome, whether you are just having a night off the booze or are alcohol-free. The bar will stock some of the best alcohol-free drinks on the market, from beers through to wines and kombucha. It is a great night where no one has to feel pressured to drink
– Club Soda
We’d like say to thank you to our hosts Adelina Yard for having us again and also to Real Kombucha for joining us and offering free tastings of their vegan-friendly gluten-free alcohol-free drinks.
Queers Without Beers plans to return on Monday in late February. To stay tuned and find out more about Queers Without Beers, join the community on the Meetup group.
Last week, BDP joined Transform Drug Policy Foundation to take part in Take Drugs Seriously – a series of events highlighting the impact of drugs in Bristol and new harm reduction initiatives.
At an exhibition on Thursday at Colston Hall, BDP supported Transform to host a mock Safer Injecting Facility, also known as Drug Consumption Room, giving people the opportunity to discover what a Safer Injecting Facility looks like and how they could help save lives.
Speaking to Sky News at the event, BDP Engagement Worker Deb Hussey explained that:
People are injecting drugs, people are using these drugs, let’s let them do it as safely as possible and while they’re accessing a service like this we can talk to them about making changes around their drug use.
We congratulate @TransformDrugs@BDProads on a superb demonstration of a drug consumption room. They show just how simple, safe and integrated they could be in all our cities. Evidence points firmly towards how well these facilities work: They save lives.https://t.co/WKjxzMRCfC
Following a talk from former government drug adviser and leading drugs researcher Professor David Nutt, local politicians and practitioners formed a panel to take part in a Q&A. Speaking as part of the panel, BDP CEO Maggie Telfer described safer injecting facilities as a:
…pragmatic, humane response to the reality for some of the most marginalised and stigmatised groups.
The exhibition featured the latest research and insights into drug use, supply and harm reduction. Including presentations and interactive exhibits on addiction, drug cultures, drug markets, psychedelics, opioid use and more.
BDP were also on hand to train individuals around the safe administration of Naloxone, the life-saving drug that helps reverse the effects of opioid overdose.
Following Thursdays event, BDP attended a memorial event hosted by Anyone’s Child: Families for Safer Drug Control, where 4,000 ‘forget-me-not’ flowers were planted at College Green in memory of those who have died as a result of drugs. BDP’s Create Space art group were proud to have helped design and make some of the flowers earlier that week.
