Over the past few months, Addiction NI has been working with VIEW magazine on an in-depth insight into addiction.
This new issue highlights the excellent services being provided across Northern Ireland to help those seeking support for substance misuse. Conversations need to happen and we all have a part to play in breaking the silence and stigma surrounding addiction.
Alex Bunting, Director of Addiction NI/Services said: “Huge efforts have been made to reduce the stigma related to substance misuse, incorporate social support, reconnect individuals to their communities and encourage more people to step forward and seek help.”
The reality is that to effectively tackle substance addiction and help those living with it, we need to develop innovative solutions and a comprehensive drug strategy.
From Belfast to Lisbon, VIEW has spoken with some amazing people and organisations. As part of this latest edition, the magazine’s editor, Brian Pelan, travelled to Portugal to find out about how policy makers and service providers there have led Europe in tackling addiction-related issues. He spoke to world-renowned addiction expert Stanton Peele and heard from those driving the conversation in Northern Ireland, including Alan McMillen, who was supported by Addiction NI throughout his own recovery journey and now sits on the Addiction NI Opinion and Involvement Group.
You can read the full publication here.
Working together, we can move to a place where there is #noshame associated with substance misuse, a place where anyone affected is able to reach out for the support that they need.
If you have been affected by anything referenced, you can contact our team here. You can also reach them by telephone on 028 9066 4434.