Strong Links between Areas

[Tony.B.]

Just had a great chat with a good friend.This chat made me realise something.
Funny thing is every time i talk to or see this person it is always the same thing in my mind when i depart.

That is that our links, one end of the country to the other, must be very strong and i know certainly in my case very much stronger.

Everytime i speak to a friend in another area it never ceases to amaze me how different policies+hence plights are.So i feel a great need to seek out good practice and this is where our networks come in.

We always say we must keep in touch.......we really must because as we have found out in the past we can miss opportunities+ in this life that's dangerous.

I know it is high priority for me this year and this Forum is a great tool to put in my t/kit.

I also hope that others too make their links stronger because i suppose sometime it's coming back to me.This is a powerful tool let's use it to improve the whole system link by link.

Thanks The Alliance
Tony

[Alan J]

Dear Tony,

Welcome and thanks for you contribution. I agree with you 100% we must seek to celebrate not only our differance's but also our communality of experience and strive to forge links at local, regional and national level to ensure we are able to offer autonomous yet mutual support irrespective of our personal goals and road to
recovery, stability, etc.

New technolgies such as the pc, the web, mobile tp, etc, enable us to develop new organisational method's, models and structures that are non heirachical yet enable lateral organising on issues of mutual concern. It is vital that the Alliance serves as a hub, a tool box, for all who wish to develop advocacy for our peer's.
It is also vital that we are seen to support local and regional inititiaives that respond to local and regional users needs rather than 'impose some kind of top down 'one size fit's all model'.

My hope is the the National Model Of Advocacy and the Alliance will support a strong local, regional and national network of strong advocates at all levels who will be key particpants in assisting the empowerment of our peers and fellows in the treatment process, commisioning and in all aspects of their lives.

It is great to have you on board, best Alan J.

[andrewmoffat]

this is what we need its no good having amazing technology if we dont join links, im struggling to re-define the after-care service, and i want to have the opportunity to talk about what actually works (succesful outcomes), this can only come from the front line users who have experienced the process and feedback models of excellence to the policy makers and accountants, please come to the aftercare and drugs strategy conference on 11may06!

them and us -im hoping there will be opportunities to create strong links between bottom up ideas (us) and them!

continuing care

and thanks
andrew

oktoolkit

[Alan J]

Dear Andrew and Tony,

My personal perspective is that new and emerging technologies offer new and hitherto unprecedented models for organisation, communication, activism and change. We are freed from a structural relaince on heirachical models of organisation and communication which so bedevilled the Marxist, communist and socialist models of resistance, contestation, organisation and change.

Without the encumberance of heirachical models of struggle, leadership and all the accompanying baggage we have an opportunity to develop non 'heirachical' local, regional and national models for struggle, communication, organisation and rapid deployment of demonstration /D/Action.

This need not depend on sanction by a 'leadership' but should be open to debate and review collectively as too effect and counter effect.

Time we got shrewd and wise, to view the technis of our age as offering unprecedented organisational opportunties aswell as new models', forums, and spaces for struggle.

Best, Alan J.