Alcohol Related Harm Awareness Week
Thinking about your relationship with alcohol this Awareness Week on Alcohol Related Harm? Click on the image below to take this self-assessment test to find out if your relationship with alcohol is about right or whether you’re overdoing it and need to take action. #awarh20
European Week for Awareness of Alcohol Related Harm
The eighth Awareness Week on Alcohol Related Harm
takes place from November 16-20. The Week
provides an opportunity for people to think and
talk about alcohol.
[The information on this page comes from hse.ie]
November 16th – Wellbeing & Mental Health
Using alcohol to cope with difficult feelings or problems can create more problems. You may not realise that drinking is affecting your health. But there can be early warning signs. Mental health symptoms caused by problem drinking include:
- memory problems
- concentration problems
- finding it hard to learn new things
- personality changes
- hazy thinking
- anxiety
- depression
- Talk to your GP if you have any of these symptoms.
Rapid Assessment Report into Suicide in Ballyfermot
In 2019, in Ballyfermot, a number of young women tragically died by suicide. There was an urgent local interagency response resulting in the National Office of Suicide Prevention (NOSP) commissioning a report by S3 Solutions into this incidence of suicide in Ballyfermot. The action was consistent with the Connecting for Life Local Suicide Prevention Action Plan for Dublin South. The report explores the event, having interviewed local people and outlined various factors specific to Ballyfermot and related contagion. This comprehensive report covers the events using various relevant themes and makes several recommendations. One of the recommendations is to set up a local interagency group which will implement actions to help prevent and reduce the occurrence of suicide and self harm in the area. This work has already begun.
Ballyfermot Rapid Assessment Research Launch
Commissioned by the National Office of Suicide Prevention, research was carried out in Ballyfermot and Cherry Orchard into the prevalence of suicide. SPACE – Suicide Prevention and Community Engagement is an interagency group in Ballyfermot which will develop and implement recommendations from the research.
Registration is required and is open to people living and working in Ballyfermot and to other stakeholders by invitation. Register here:
International Recovery Day
30th September, 2020
We are asking people in Ballyfermot to #leavealighton as we want to shine a light on Recovery, showing that recovery is possible.
Show your support leave a purple light on for International Recovery Day #addictionrecoveryworks
International Overdose Awareness Day
Monday 31st October, 2020
A Nalaxone training event was held in the Ballyfermot Civic Centre in honour of International Overdose Awareness Day. The training was provided by Uisce – an advocacy group for substance users. Organisation of the event was facilitated by Wayne Martin of Job Plan and Úna Rafferty, Community Development Officer with the Ballyfermot Chapelizod Partnership. Job Plan is a service for people working on personal development and job readiness while coping with substance misuse issues.
This valuable training was kindly provided to local service users by Lynne and Marie of UISCE and was also attended by staff from Ballyfermot Advance. Denis O’Driscoll, a key figure in promoting Naloxone and pharmacologist with the HSE, also kindly attended the event.
Naloxone is prescription medication used to reverse the effects of opioid drugs like heroin, morphine and methadone if someone overdoses – More information on Naloxone can be found here on Drugs.ie
Uisce is an advocacy group for people who use drugs. More information on their work, including Naloxone training, can be found here.
Nitrous Oxide Gas, aka ‘silver bullets’, ‘whippets’ or ‘balloons’.
Also see our publications page for more useful information.
