The families

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The families role in recovery

• Vivienne Evans

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Scale

• Approximately 7 million people are affected by
  someone elses substance misuse

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Scale

• There are 250,000 children of problematic drug
  users
• and 1 million children affected by parental
  alcohol misuse

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Scale

• 150,000 people are affected by drug use in prison

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Policy context everyones business

• Models of Care 2006
• Drugs Strategy 2008
• Carers Strategy 2008
• NICE guidance 2007
• Hidden Harm 2003
• Social Exclusion Task Force Think Family 2007
• Aiming High for Every Child HM Treasury 2007
• Childrens Plan DCSF 2007

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Impact

• Social
• Financial
• Physical
• Psychological
• Criminality
• Stigma
• Personal and societal

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Why support families?

• They provide practical, emotional and financial
  support to the substance user, improving the
  likelihood of successful treatment and retention
  in treatment
• Health and welfare of family members is improved
  if they are given support
• Engaging families in a prison setting can reduce
  drug supply and re-offending
• Isolation and stigma increases stress and its
  related problems, placing added strain on
  statutory services
• Economic advantages

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Recovery

• Unrealistic goals
• Equated with abstinence
• Health
• Job
• Home
• Family support
• Recovering from a drug or alcohol problem is more
  complex than not having a substance in your
  system any more

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Emerging dilemmas

• Interventions
• Involvement and support
• Insecure contracts
• Parents and children/prevention and resilience

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Key messages

• Families are relied upon to provide support
  without being adequately supported themselves
• Families subsidise treatment provision
• The welfare system penalises families
• Families do not get support when they want to
  disengage with the drug user
• Families need to recover too
• The role of the family needs to be recognised at
  grassroots level, not just with policy circles
• Families want more information
• There is a great deal we do not know about the
  family's role

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Key issues

• Rebuilding family relationships is a key
  constituent of recovery
• Families provide vital recovery capital
• Families are well placed to help map
  individualised routes away from drug dependency
• Families need to recover too

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• www.adfam.org.uk