Gov't allocates £9m to job help for addicts

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by Change | 9 Jan 2009

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The government has allocated £9 million to provide support for former drug and alcohol addiction victims who are looking for jobs.

A new strategy which aims to prevent drug addiction relapse through teaching skills and improving employability has received a £9 million investment.

The Department of Health will use the funding to train drugs coordinators to work with the Jobcentre Plus and is expected to help complement existing measures provided by rehab clinics.

Christina Ball, the operations director at Drugsline, welcomes the initiative as a way of supporting users.

She suggests it builds on the charity's existing schemes, in which recovering people are trained to become volunteer telephone counsellors.

"Training and employment support is key for those who have left treatment and are re-establishing their lives," she asserts.

Ms Ball states many of those who have had problems with alcohol and drug addiction can be helped by projects of this sort.

She adds: "For many ex-drug and alcohol users, developing these new skills can be a positive way of getting back into mainstream society and helping them to stay drug-free."

In other news, a report from the National Institute on drug abuse has called for more attention to be paid to the relationship between addiction and other mental illnesses.

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