Salvation Army’s drug and alcohol strategy takes centre stage

published on 18 Feb 2016

Our pioneering work in tackling substance abuse in communities across Scotland is today taking centre stage at the country's largest third-sector event this week.

We are hosting a seminar at The Gathering in Glasgow’s SECC to talk about the progress of our Scotland Drug and Alcohol Strategy - a five-year plan to tackle the social and health effects on families and on the fabric of society in Scotland.

As a leading provider of services to support men and women in recovery, we invested £250,000 in 2013 to fund the first phase of our Scotland Drug and Alcohol Strategy. This has seen experienced drug and alcohol workers positioned in three key towns around the central belt of Scotland – Greenock, Stirling and Falkirk.

Phase two involved the appointment of a drug and alcohol worker in Aberdeen.

We're now about to enter phase three of the strategy and are in discussions with the University of Stirling on the development of a centre of excellence at the university – which would see a hub created for research and development on the causes and effects of cognitive impairment due to drug and alcohol abuse.

Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Roberts, our assistant to Secretary for Scotland, said: “Our Drug and Alcohol Strategy underlines the commitment we have to communities around Scotland. 

“The Salvation Army is an expert in providing evidence-based social programmes to help transform people’s lives. 

“We are concerned about the social and health effects alcohol is having on families and on the fabric of society in Scotland. For our Drug and Alcohol Strategy we’re using elements of a system known as the Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA), which is a holistic method that uses the community to encourage people to change their drinking habits or drug use.”