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Skye and Lochalsh Drug and Alcohol Partnership - Alcohol Awareness Project

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Project: Alcohol Awareness Project

Region: Scotland

Amount approved: £5,500

The Skye and Lochalsh Drug and Alcohol Partnership was one of several local organisations set up in the 80s, by what is now Alcohol Focus Scotland, to tackle substance misuse and provide counselling in the Highlands which remains its core work today. However, it has added other components to its work since then, including the drug abuse interventions which were not present at the outset.

This particular initiative comprises alcohol awareness talks for P7 pupils in all of the area’s twenty primary schools as well as a programme of activities for its two senior schools. Although the primary school work is led by pupils to a degree, all sessions begin by explaining the role water plays in the body, which is followed by discussions about the content of different popular drinks and why people consume them. This introduces the alcohol content which begins with short and long-term effects of alcohol on the body and brain, drink driving, law, units/limits and how to recognise problem drinking.

These elements are then followed by more complex issues including alcohol risks particular to women  such as pregnancy, trends of local alcohol misuse, behaviour under the influence, sexual health and  head injuries associated with drunkenness. Videos are used to demonstrate such things as the risks of drink driving, behaviour in relation to units consumed and peer pressure.

The sessions usually last seventy-five minutes and are supplemented by follow-up visits which give pupils the chance to pose further questions.

The senior school sessions differ considerably, not least because Beneficiaries will have seen the primary school workshops. These older participants, aged up to fifteen, are expected to produce information, such as posters, using the knowledge they have gained.

Although Drinkaware ultimately awarded a relatively small sum, this project is likely to have a greater impact than most because of the lack of resources and funding for such work in more isolated, rural locations. It is a sad truth that such places often also suffer from acute alcohol problems, ones which cannot be solved by the methods generally employed in suburban or city districts.

Page last updated by
Unknown, 10 May 2012.
Page checked on
20 Jun 2011
 
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