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Remarks at the Coolmine Therapeutic Community 40th Anniversary Commemorative Event

Coolmine, 17 May 2013

A Chairde go léir,

I am delighted to have been invited here today to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Coolmine Therapeutic Community. Is ócáid an-speisialta í seo a thugann deis dúinn gach atá bainte amach go dtí seo a chéiliúradh chomh maith le féachaint ar fhís a d’fhéadfaí a chruthú don todhchaí.

Coolmine Therapeutic Community has a long and well established reputation for the service and support it provides to those working to overcome a problem with drugs and alcohol in Dublin and beyond. I welcome the opportunity to acknowledge and reflect upon your many achievements over these past 40 years.

I wish to thank Paul Conlon, the former CEO and Pauline McKeown, current CEO, for their very kind invitation to come and speak with you today. I am delighted to see Lord Rossmore and other founders here today to mark this significant milestone in the history of Coolmine.

Coolmine Therapeutic Community was established in 1973 and was, at the time, the only voluntary body concerned with the treatment of drug addiction in the Dublin area.

With the significant increase in the use of heroin in Dublin in the 1980s the need for supports and facilities like Coolmine grew. This led, in 1983, to the opening of a new residential facility, near Navan in Co. Meath, which could accommodate up to a hundred individuals and was followed in 1989 by a residential facility for women at Ashleigh House.

To this day Coolmine is a leader in the field of drug addiction treatment and continues to respond creatively to the needs of those who seek services and supports. Your values of dignity and respect; compassion; honesty, consistency and responsibility; safety and security; and commitment to quality, are evident in the impressive range of programmes provided by Coolmine.

One of the latest of such initiatives is the opening of the only mother and child residential treatment service in Ireland at the Ashleigh House facility, which allows mothers of small children to participate in treatment and keep their children with them.

Our understanding of drug addiction has evolved and we now know much more about effective medical and social responses to addiction. That your programme is holistic and provides not only medical supports, but programmes that include the talking therapies that address family relationships, self image, community relationships and re-entry into work is evidence of this evolution.

Furthermore, I welcome that we are moving, however slowly and however great the challenges, towards working with those affected by drugs misuse with the respect and compassion they deserve. These are all positive and very welcome developments.

However, if we are to develop as an inclusive, democratic society that cares for all its citizens, then we have so much further to go. Research tells us that great inequalities in wealth in a society result in great inequalities in health. Using many core indicators, from life expectancy, to levels of educational performance, to levels of addiction to illegal drugs and deaths from drug overdose – research has demonstrated that the health of society is affected not by how wealthy a society is, but how equal it is.

Evidence tells us that reducing inequalities is essential if we are to meaningfully, and in a sustained manner, address the seedbed from which so much drug addiction comes. Our real wealth is our people and they constitute our capacity for change.

And of course it is not just the lives of the individuals directly concerned that are changed by recovery from addiction. It is estimated that for every individual directly affected by addiction, at least eight other people’s lives are affected. An addiction affects so many around the individual drug user, including partners, children, parents, grandparents, siblings, colleagues and fellow students and friends – and all of these share in the success achieved through Coolmine’s programmes. I would like to personally congratulate each and every one of you who are graduating here later today. I am sure that at times you felt that the challenges you faced were overwhelming – I applaud your perseverance and accomplishment.

Coolmine espouses a continuum of care approach to treatment and rehabilitation which recognises that those seeking support have multiple and complex needs and may require differing supports and responses from a range of services, as they move through the various stages of recovery. It also recognises the importance of the support of peers as well as professionals through the process. In addition to the supports offered during treatment, the inclusion of aftercare programmes, relapse prevention programmes, career guidance schemes, a Community Employment Scheme and links with housing providers, all serve to facilitate the participant’s successful re-engagement with society.

Through the Graduate Lifelong Learning Support Group, a peer led group which meets on a weekly basis, Coolmine continues to offer support and encouragement after the treatment programme has ended. Through this Support Group, graduates are helped to maintain their recovery and work towards achieving their personal goals. The results are impressive. Last year 57 graduates of Coolmine moved on to further education and training, 20 gained Community Employment Scheme places, 2 moved into full time employment and 7 graduates found part time employment or internships.

I know some of those graduates are here today and there are also some current programme participants with us. I wish you all well and salute you for the daily decision you make to address drug addiction in your lives and to live creatively and seek to realise your own unique path and endless possibilities.
Over the years, Coolmine has demonstrated a great capacity for change and deep commitment to evidence based practice. It has also been prepared to engage in partnerships and co-operate with other service providers and agencies in order to ensure that those seeking support can avail of the services appropriate to their needs, whatever stage they are on the journey to recovery.

An important example of this is the joint venture which began in August 2008 with Ana Liffey Drug Project, which provides a special pre-entry programme designed especially for homeless people to facilitate their entry into treatment services in Coolmine when they are ready to take that step. A further example is their Prison Outreach Service, which supports those working to remain drug free in the main prisons in Dublin, as well as the Midlands Prison and Cork Prison.

These type of multi-agency partnerships, which gain strength from the experience and expertise of the various partners, are the most effective way to support those with complex needs. The key challenge is to collaborate and provide assistance in such a manner that those seeking it find high quality and culturally appropriate supports accessible and readily available.

Today is a day of great celebration. For forty years Coolmine Therapeutic Community has delivered far reaching services helping those caught in the net of addiction and their families. Today also marks the launching of a 40th Anniversary Commemorative book entitled “40 Years Helping People find their way Home” designed by Malcolm MacClancy which includes a collection of stories from past Coolmine participants. I am sure it will provide inspiration to those currently struggling with problem drug or alcohol use.

In conclusion, the successes here at Coolmine reflect the dedication, commitment and hard work of those dealing with vulnerable people in our society. It is also an example of the huge contribution made by the Voluntary Sector to the day-to-day delivery of our National Drugs Strategy. I wish all of you here at Coolmine Therapeutic Community every success in your continued delivery of supports to the most marginalised in society.

Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a ghabháil libh arís as an dea-obair atá curtha i gcrích agaibh le 40 bliain anuas agus gach rath a ghuí oraibh agus ar an eagraíocht éachtach seo sna blianta atá romhainn.