SME News December 2017

16 SME NEWS / December 2017 , Cumbria Alcohol and Drug Advisory Service (CADAS) is a charity and social enterprise that offers advice and guidance for all ages surrounding substance use and addiction. LeighWilliams, CEO, tells us more about the success of the charity, with it being featured as Best Drug & Alcohol Support Service – Cumbria. We Help You Change CADAS provides therapeutic support to people experiencing problematic substance use, and supports the families, parents and carers of people using substances. The team offers educational workshops to young people aged 10-25 across schools, colleges, youth clubs and projects, as well as apprenticeship placements on drug and alcohol awareness. Additionally, CADAS offers a whole host of professional training courses to teachers, youth workers, therapists, foster carers. Leigh tells us what differentiates CADAS from its competitors. “Currently, we are spearheading training in the county on volatile substances, such as aerosol and gas, as it is becoming problematic for local police forces and is incredibly harmful to young people. As we are a joined-up service, we can offer intensive support to young people, teach the professionals, including teachers, around them about the substances and offer support to their parents under another of our funded programmes.” Being a people focused charity, the staff play to the skills of individuals, and aim to smash the stigma surrounding those who are in need, and look to create employment opportunities for previous clients. Leigh tells us more about the internal culture within the charity and how this breeds success. “Basically, our training and support package needs to be rigorous due to the vulnerable nature of our service users, all those working with young people have been training appropriately in Youth Mental Health First Aid and youth work and training delivery skills. Our adult client supporters undergo an intensive training course, with a minimum of 14 weeks, and the team attend compulsory clinical supervision. Plus, we are just looking at introducing Wellness Action Plans (WAPs) to ensure the mental health of our team is valued and prioritised.” Moving forward, CADAS are hoping to grow the enterprising activity and develop a way of income generating from clients who can afford to pay. This would enable the charity to maintain the free service for those who cannot afford it, and reduce the waiting list time. Lastly, CADAS brings in income that not only covers the cost for an individual’s care, but covers the cost for another. NWE17028