ABLE project upskills young drug addicts

Categories

Addiction Treatment
Alcohol
Drugs
Gambling
In the papers
On TV

News Archive

Home » News » Drugs » ABLE project upskills young drug addicts

by Change | 27 Nov 2008

Bookmark

E-mail

A Wakefield scheme concentrating on teaching aquacultural skills to those with drug dependencies is setting up similar projects in other areas.

A Wakefield organisation established to help young people with drug addictions learn life skills is expanding its scheme into the Rotherham area.

The ABLE project is a sustainable fish farming and horticultural development which aims to give training both to those referred to it from the probation service and those at risk of, or who have been, excluded from school.

Initially serving those with alcohol dependency and drug addiction problems, it is experiencing significant demand from various sectors.

Focusing on rearing sturgeon, carp, catfish and tilapia, the ABLE project operates on a commercial basis, selling these on to the local community.

In its first year, the scheme involved 455 probation workers and 681 children, showing its appeal outside of the spheres of drug addiction rehabilitation.

Graham Wiles, the project manager for the Green Business Network, which supports the scheme, claims other local authorities which have used the site have wanted similar initiatives in their own area.

According to a study produced by the Manchester University National Drug Evidence Centre, attending rehab treatment reduces the chances of former addicts reoffending by half.

Bookmark this: