Advocacy Part One

Run specifically for users and carers, this course aims to:

• examine the role of user involvement and advocacy within current political systems and networks, and explore how participants’ active engagement within existing structures can encourage personal and strategic development
  
• explore the whole journey through the advocacy process from receiving an initial request to closing a case, analysing real-life case studies, developing effective communication techniques, and exploring issues of confidentiality and potential conflict
  
• encourage participants to explore and develop a basic ‘tool bag’ of approaches that can be used in everyday situations.

The training will consist of three separate days in which you will learn about the background to advocacy within drug use in Britain, the specific problems which you will address when advocating for drug users and how to process a case from start to finish. The course is roughly divided into a day of background on drug policy in Britain and how the system works on a local and national level, a day of training in how to advocate effectively for a client and a rough overview of the pharmacology involved in advocating within drug treatment, and a day of practical advocacy in which people look at specific case studies and work through them as if they were advocating for the client involved. Whilst the course assumes little previous knowledge of the subject, it is important that participants have basic skills of listening and communicating, and have follow-up support available in their own areas (or there is a commitment to provide this in the future).

Individuals interested in attending part one of the advocacy course at the Alliance headquarters in London can do so at a cost of £360 for a three day training course. Course numbers are limited to eight people and courses are run every two months. We are unable to provide transport, accommodation or food, so if you are seeking local funding to attend the course, please take the cost of these into account.

If your region has up to 15 users who wish to be trained, the Alliance will bring the training to you at a total cost of £5,000. Please contact us for further information.

Please note that while this course will provide a basic introduction to the tenets of advocacy within drug treatment, participants will not emerge ready for employment as advocates. However, they will be equipped with information to enable them to take part in such services locally. Existing organisations and models of involvement will be highlighted, and there will be opportunities for suitable participants to become involved in this work. Those who wish to work towards that goal should also attend Part Two of the course and should approach the Alliance to find out more about opportunities for hands on practice in a supported environment.

Advocacy Part Two

Part Two is only open to those who have completed the Advocacy Part One training at least three months before the start of the course.

It aims to build on the foundations laid by Part One by looking again at the skills taught in that course and adding new knowledge about how to advocate for a wider range of clients and how to deal with more complex cases.

Participants will be taught:

• how to communicate effectively with GPs (this module will be taught by a prescribing GP)

• how to advocate for stimulant users in the absence of widely accepted treatment practices

• some of the issues around advocating for under eighteens and how best to work with this age group

• what tools are needed in cases where child protection is a factor

• how to deal with more complex cases through examination of test cases and a day of roleplay

Individuals interested in attending part two of the advocacy course at the Alliance headquarters in London can do so at a cost of £360 for a three day training course. Course numbers are limited to eight people and courses are run every two months. We are unable to provide transport, accommodation or food, so if you are seeking local funding to attend the course, please take the cost of these into account. The next course will be taking place from the 15^th to the 17^th of November 2005.

If your region has up to 15 users who wish to be trained, the Alliance will bring the training to you at a total cost of £5,000. Please contact us for further information.

Please note that while this course will provide a basic introduction to the tenets of advocacy within drug treatment, participants will not emerge ready for employment as advocates. However, they will be equipped with information to enable them to take part in such services locally. Existing organisations and models of involvement will be highlighted, and there will be opportunities for suitable participants to become involved in this work. Those who wish to work towards that goal should approach the Alliance to find out more about opportunities for hands on practice in a supported environment.