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Consensus
statement
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CONSENSUS
STATEMENT
ON
PROBLEM DRUG USE AND SOCIAL RE-INTEGRATION
Agreed
by Delegates attending the
European
Summer University :
Drugs,
Inclusion and Employment
Glasgow,
28 – 30 June 2004
Recognising
that:
- Problem drug use
is a complex issue, linked to deprivation and poverty, and that drug
users share a common experience with other people experiencing social
exclusion;
- Drug users face
structural exclusion from the labour market, often compounded by homelessness,
a criminal record, and dependence on state benefits;
- The human potential
of those experiencing drug problems is a resource to be tapped, and
very many of these individuals would like to access long term employment;
- Strategic appraisal
of local labour market needs will identify skill shortages that may
be met by excluded individuals;
- There are powerful
social, equalities and economic arguments for securing pathways into
employment for drug users;
- Models of effective
practice exist which can be shared and implemented more widely, and
a demand for the ‘new’ at the expense of the ‘proven’ is unhelpful and
economically wasteful;
- Nevertheless,
new models of access to housing, lifelong learning and education, training
and employment also need to be developed alongside proven existing routes;
- Both individual
drug users and employers have needs that must be met in order for the
employment equation to be effective;
- Timescales to
resolve social exclusion and long term unemployment require to be individually
tailored and realistic;
- Effective employment
programmes for drug users improve treatment outcomes and represent one
of the most effective approaches to drug prevention for the next generation.
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We
recommend that:
- The challenge
of supporting drug users into employment is seen as an evolving process,
integrated into the treatment and rehabilitation process and with continuing
support, as required, in the community and when employed;
- Strategic partnerships,
addressing the needs of all excluded groups, are developed at local
and national level to achieve large scale change towards full employment;
- Operational frameworks,
informed by good practice, are established within which agencies addressing
different aspects of social exclusion can work together to maximise
the employability and social re-integration of drug users;
- Employers’ organisations
are engaged in the social change agenda (including the elimination of
the stigma attached to drug use), so that workplace policies and cultures
develop to the mutual benefit of individuals and the employing bodies,
with public sector agencies taking a lead in this;
- A coherent balance
is struck between the provision of drug treatment services and the availability
of housing, education, training, and employment opportunities;
- Incentives and
facilitation are created for new ways of working and contributing to
society, for example through volunteering, social firms, cooperatives
and intermediate labour market organisations;
- Sustainable, long
term funding streams are made available to support proven initiatives
which demonstrate successful social re-integration of drug users;
- Greater flexibility
is developed in housing, education, training, and employment programmes
and in the benefits framework, in order to increase access by those
from socially excluded backgrounds;
- Cost - benefit
analyses are developed to demonstrate the economic and social value
of the investment required for large scale programme expansion;
- This consensus
statement is used as a basis for influencing European Union drug and
employment strategies, and those of individual countries, with a view
to national governments becoming more ‘joined up’ in their responses
to drugs and social re-integration.
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