When a rehabilitation service takes a student on placement there is always a risk attached. Our recent experience with Aisling, Amy, David and Jennifer from DCU reminded us of how important it is to take risks and involve students with fresh ideas, sparking imaginations and creativity that turns heads in the development of our services. Over a period of two months Aisling, Amy, David and Jennifer worked with a group of participants from Sankalpa through the medium of visual communications to produce a short film entitled “Recovery please” that we think you will enjoy and share with your friends.
This post is dedicated to the memory of Eugene Finane who died suddenly on Monday 16th May 2011. Eugene was on our team for a year and was due to start a new role as a project support worker. He ran a men’s group in Sankalpa with great skill, compassion and professionalism. He had just completed the Merchants Quay course on addiction and was hungry to learn more and to help others in what ever way he could. He was also very involved with the support group “Unmarried and Seperated Parents of Ireland (www.uspi.ie). May he rest in peace.
Recently I gave a presentation to the participants and staff of Sankalpa on the meaning of Sankalpa. I hope you will take the time to look at this short presentation as Sankalpa is a way of being that we can all learn and practice! By Dr. Tom O Brien, Manager, Sankalpa
The manager of SankalpaDr. Tom O Brien talks openly about the making of ‘The Pharm’ and the value of film making as a model of adult learning and personal development. Currently Sankalpa is making two new films, one looking at elderly abuse and another exploring long term methadone maintenance.
‘The Pharm’ is a short film made by local people from Finglas and Cabra who attend the Sankalpa addiction rehabilitation program. The film is about addiction to valium and alcohol and focuses on the plight on a mother who is struggling with life in Finglas. The central character Deborah (Amanda Doonan) is not only struggling with the stresses and strains of her own life, she also has a teenage daughter Laura (Lynne Murray) who has started to mirror her mother’s behaviour. Deborah turns to her Doctor (Ray Higgins) for support who in turn prescribes her valium without an adequate assessment of her needs and in the end the prescription reinforces her isolation and sense of despair. Laura eventually convinces her mother to go to FAST (Finglas Addiction Support Team) but Debora is reluctant to admit she needs support.
Damien talks to Anne Marie about his detox from methadone, valium and anti-depressants. He is very positive about his experience in Sankalpa. He recognizes that there is not enough support in the clinics for people who do want to detox and that there should be more funding for centres like Sankalpa to support people to detox at their own pace over time, with the support of a team of people delivering a range of services including key working, psychotherapy, employment support, educational and creative programs.
David Moore talks to Kelly Anne about the “Return to Learning” course at NUI Maynooth which he started in September 2010.
This Certificate level course is designed as a stepping stone for those who wish to return to study, but have not studied in any formal way for a number of years. Participants will be given an opportunity to sample a number of academic subjects so that they will be able to make a more informed choice when selecting subjects later.
COURSE AIMS
The course aims to familiarise people with the structure and requirements of third level education; to equip them with some of the necessary skills required and help them identify the subjects or courses that they may later wish to undertake.
‘The Pharm’ is a short film made by local people from Finglas and Cabra who attend the Sankalpa addiction rehabilitation program. The film is about addiction to valium and alcohol and focuses on the plight on a mother who is struggling with life in Finglas. The central character Deborah (Amanda Doonan) is not only struggling with the stresses and strains of her own life, she also has a teenage daughter Laura (Lynne Murray) who has started to mirror her mother’s behaviour. Deborah turns to her Doctor (Ray Higgins) for support who in turn prescribes her valium without an adequate assessment of her needs and in the end the prescription reinforces her isolation and sense of despair. Laura eventually convinces her mother to go to FAST (Finglas Addiction Support Team) but Debora is reluctant to admit she needs support.
As a first film for Sankalpa ‘The Pharm’ provides a realistic portrait of the problems some women face when trying to deal with stress or depression. The film highlights the ease at which doctors prescribe valium and how prescription medication does not really deal with the underlying causes of the problem. There is clear evidence in the research literature that valium is widely used by heroin users. Valium is sold openly in the city centre. Some drug users secure a valium prescription from their doctors and then sell it on to supplement their income and to buy other drugs. Recent research in the Irish context indicated that the prescribing of valium and other benzodiazepines increased with increasing levels of material deprivation. There is also evidence indicating that prescribing of benzodiazepines is significantly higher among females than males. Valium is being prescribed as a social support drug in the absence of adequate community services. But the long term cost of this approach has yet to be calculated. Our reliance on drugs to solve social problems has become embedded in our culture and is being passed from one generation to the next. Then there the side effects such as liver damage especially when valium is combined with alcohol and other drugs. It is hoped that ‘The Pharm’ will help to highlight the issue and show that there are alternatives to the medical approach for anxiety and depression.
Sankalpa are running a competition in conjunction with the release of the film on the 8th of October. For further details see www.sankalpa.ie
The Pharm will premier at the Lighthouse Cinema on Friday the 8th of October and Minister Pat Carey will be in attendance.
Áine Mac A Bhaird spoke on behalf of Sankalpa at a local event organized by the Finglas Cabra Local Drugs Task Force in the Ardmore Hotel on Thursday 30th September 2010. The event was organized to showcase the creativity of local drug services and demonstrate their solidarity in tackling the drug problem in the local area. Áine made the point that we dont want to go back to the way things were before the economic crisis. She went on to say ‘we want something new, we dont want to go back to loads of money flying around, but nobody getting a better quaility of life’.
Would you like to win an iPod? Ok! On the 8th of October we will up load the full version of the ‘The Pharm’ to Youtube. All you have to do, is watch the film and answer a simple question and email your answer to hello@sankalpa.ie
You must be over 18 and from Ireland to enter. The competition opens on the 8th of October 2010. Full details of the competition will be published here before we up load the film to youtube.
