2007 AGMThe 2007 AGM for Neraf took place recently at Angel House in Sunderland. A full agenda saw many high profile speakers come together to celebrate the work of NERAF, recognise the work done in the past and and look forward to the future.
Agenda on the day2.00 Chair for today Steve Hopkirk was brought
up in Hendon. He is Independent Chair of Safer Sunderland Partnership
and Business Support Group. A former Police Inspector her now runs
ESH Associates 2.05 Pat Harriman Back On The Map 2.10 Paul Gray Sunderland Teaching Primary Care Trust 2.20 Dr Stephen Singleton, Regional Director of Public Health will declare the East End and Hendon Community Alcohol Misuse Project open. 2,30 Kevan Martin Founder NERAF 3.oo Ask The Panel 3.20 Have a look around NERAF’s relapse prevention and aftercare centre. 3.45 NERAF AGM Forward sent out ahead of the AGM It is the time of year for us to reflect and look back on yet another successful year for NERAF. Founder and now general manager, Kevan Martin, had an idea, a hopeful concept five years ago, which is now turning into the effective reality that it is and making a difference to so many lives. My report has to begin with an accolade to Kevan (the gaffer) for having the vision in the first place and then for having the passion and determination to see it through. It has not been easy for him particularly in being able to access funding to develop the service. As he would say ‘you don’t need lots of money to be able to make a difference what you need is a ‘can do, will do’ attitude. That’s how it is with the gaffer, he says it as it, has been prepared to take the risks needed and for three years he funded NERAF out of his own pocket. Taking over as Chair of NERAF was, to say the least daunting considering whom I took over from, a hard act to follow by any means but someone had to do it! Our development is an ongoing process broken up into several strands but each step achieved properly, thoroughly and professionally seeing us as an independent registered charity and also now as a Community Interest Company. We strive for partnership working recognizing from our time in treatment that a ‘them and us’ attitude between service providers is usually to the detriment of the people accessing their services and, at the end of day we have the same outcomes in mind as them! NERAF is thankfully accepted, as it was intended, as a complement to other services seeing us take over where they finish off. We are proud to be included in NERAAG (North East Regional Alcohol Advisory Group) and were pleased to be included in the North East Statement of Priorities. We are invited to attend most strategic alcohol meetings throughout the region, which reassures us that we are being taken seriously and that the views of people accessing services are being heard at the right levels. So to the year the development of support network is moving on at an alarming rate, which sees groups now up and running in Gateshead, Newcastle, Sunderland, Darlington, Redcar and others are soon to open in North, South Tyneside and Easington. Next month we will provide support groups within Durham County Hospital that are accessible by in and outpatients alike. Our mentors are operational in a variety of settings providing the peer support in the way that only NERAF can do. Grateful thanks go to NECA (North East Council of Addictions) who provide free mentor training to those that are resident in Tyne and Wear. It is hoped that people from other localities may be able to access similar training soon. Training that is available through several different voluntary organisations further complements Mentor training which sees them equipped as mini CAB workers to provide the practical support in addressing simple life issues that seem so massive when embroiled in alcoholism. In September we became homeless when the admin corridor at Cherry Knowle hospital was closed down and no alternative accommodation could be found for us. Also our partnership working with Durham DAAT Peers came to end after their project was closed down by the DAAT. Thankfully, we were able to offer some of the peers’ positions with us one of them being Caroline Robinson who is now employed as our Women’s worker. On a positive note NERAF took over the running of the Regional Alcohol Workers Forum (RAWF) when Sunderland Teaching Primary Care Trust (STPCT) brought it to an end. RAWF is an informal meeting of workers from alcohol treatment and support services from throughout the region. Gaining in popularity it is well attended and includes examples of best practice, work groups and has regular guest speakers. Recent speakers have included Sue Renforth and Anne Jones who spoke about the effects alcohol misuse has on them in their roles as ENT cancer nurses, Dr Eileen Kaner on UK Trailblazer SBI trials and Lesley Hoyle spoke about commissioning and alcohol strategies. Opportunity for NERAF came along in October when Wearside Women In Need offered us use of their premises to develop a women’s group, which we now do. The women’s group will remain at WWIN because it is a safety zone for the women, many of who have been victims of domestic violence. We have another women’s group at NECA in Washington. Things changed dramatically in November when Back On The Map agreed to fund the East End and Hendon Community Alcohol Misuse Project with NERAF having a key role in all of it and it meant a job for Kev! And about time too! We became an employer and now have a workforce of four. The project sees us working in partnership with Wearside Substance Misuse Team. NERAF mentors supporting the work of community detoxification nurses treating people at home then the mentors take over providing the peer support to take people through the early days, weeks and months of recovery. The ethos of NERAF had been recognised, we had money in the bank but we were still homeless. 2007 got off to a bright start when we moved into offices in West Sunniside after a lengthy application with Sunderland City Council. In short they didn’t want us in their premises because of the nature of work that we do? We moved out in March to what is now our regional base. Angel House, our home from where we run and coordinate NERAF services and from where we will soon be able to provide a seven-day support service We started our campaign for the need for people to be ‘AlcoWise’ with our Alcohol Don’t let it Rule You on May 11th (National Alcohol Awareness Week). We gave 12’’ rulers with alcohol container unit content on the back to youth and community groups. We did this at our own expense after a funding application to the Drinkaware Trust was turned down because we challenged Department of Health recommendations. We held a service user consultation event to discuss Governments ‘Know Your Limits’ campaign (the document is on our website) and were forwarded to D of H. Despite an assurance that they would respond, seven months on we still wait for it. Stalwart and ally of NERAF Peter Carling-Page sadly was a victim of PCT reconfiguration when his job role came to an end in June. We wish Peter all the very best. The gaffer has been busy raising NERAF’s profile at local and national level. He spoke at our Regional Alcohol Conference and at the National Tier 4 and Drugs and Alcohol conferences, was part of Alcohol Concerns select ‘think tank’ reviewing the national alcohol strategy, has appeared on BBC 2s Today’s Politics Show, ITV and BBC local and national news, Newsnight, Radio 4s You and Yours Show, Radio 5 live, BBC Manchester, Century, Metro and Radio Newcastle. Local and national press Observer, Straight Talk and Drink & Drug News. Davey Coulson is responsible for (amongst many other things) our website a task he does meticulously. It is gaining in popularity and content, updated daily to provide the latest alcohol news, has a regional directory of treatment services, alcohol awareness, safe drinking tips and a key documents page. Our accounts show a significant increase from last year yet funding is a major issue for us, as we exist from hand to mouth. We await the outcomes of several funding applications that will allow us to develop further services but ideally we need DATs, DAATs and councils to mainstream fund us yet at the same time we need to protect our independence because NERAF must always be able to represent the views of service users at local, regional and national levels. We are taking our first tentative steps in to social enterprise, which will mean big changes. The North East Regional Alcohol Forum will remain as a charity to represent service users and NERAF (North East) the company will look after support services, alcohol awareness training, website and campaigns. We cannot develop support services in any locality without realistic funding to be able to do so any longer. On behalf of the Trustees I want to thank all the staff and particularly the mentors. The majority of them have been to hell and back and lost most things that still are important to them because of alcoholism. They are now are now on the way back up helping others go through what they’ve been through because we gave them the opportunity to do so. Thank you to Alcohol Concern and Sunderland Teaching Primary Care Trust for their continued support and to our stakeholders in whichever way that you may be involved with NERAF. We are responsible for the safeguarding and running of NERAF, which we will continue to do so to ensure that the vision goes on.
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