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In 2010 The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), estimated that in Europe 1 million people were in drug treatment. In their annual report on Europe they recognise the value of treatment but identify the potential for citizens: interested members of the public, students, drug users and their families to play a greater role in the future identifying that ‘mobilising civil society should be one of the key principles for the next EU strategy'.
The projects Communities And Families Tackling Addiction (CAFTA) and Deprived Neighbourhood Approach (DNA) began working together as the Safer Neighbourhoods Approach (SNAP) partnership because 5 Cities from the 2 Seas area have a shared target group of people suffering from addictions, and shared approaches of ‘increasing resident participation in the decision making process' and ‘increasing ownership of neighbourhoods by the population'.
These projects aim to tackle some of the well known causes of social exclusion: drug and alcohol misuse; crime and fear of crime; anti-social behaviour; social isolation, stigma, and a loss of community spirit. The shared ethos of SNAP partners puts residents at the heart of decision making when looking to tackle these causes. By engaging residents and involving them in their communities, the cluster bring people together and give them a shared purpose tackling social exclusion through community inclusion. The methods used are detailed in this publication, along with the learning we have shared and how this has impacted on our work.
