Alcohol and Other Drugs
Aim to reduce the adverse consequences of drug use and its related issues for individuals and the community
Aim to reduce the adverse consequences of drug use and its related issues for individuals and the community
CASSA’s Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) services aim to reduce the adverse consequences of drug use and drug use related issues for individuals and the community. Our services are modelled and guided by harm minimisation principles and values. We value individual’s cultural backgrounds and aim to provide culturally sensitive services that respect clients’ rights to self determination.
The AOD team comprises a dedicated group of staff who, collectively, have worked in the field for several years. All of our workers value the philosophies underpinning personal choice and have a non-judgemental attitude to AOD users and their families. We take our responsibilities under CASSA’s confidentiality policies extremely seriously. The organisation values the professional development of its workers and as a result staff are highly trained to work effectively with people affected by AOD and related issues. Our team is here to support community members achieve optimum outcomes for themselves and their families.
CASSA’s AOD team provides a range of services that aim to reduce the harms associated with the use of drugs for individuals, families and communities. All of our services are funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Health and Ageing and the South Australian Government through SA Health.
The AOD team provides the following services:
The Drug Treatment Support and Counselling Services understands the complexity of addressing issues related to substance misuse and seek to provide high quality services that respond to clients’ needs. We do this by ensuring that:
One on one support
We provide a number of services to ensure clients are supported to deal with their concerns, including:
One on one AOD counselling
Our counselling services are:
Monthly support groups
We understand the sensitivity of providing support groups to individuals affected by drug issues. Our support groups are:
One on one support to families
We provide a range of services aimed at supporting the families of people who have alcohol and other drug use issues, including:
Support group for parents and/or partners of people affected by alcohol or other drug use
We understand the sensitivity of providing support groups to individuals affected by the drug use of their loved ones. Our support groups:
Developed over a year of consultations and workshops with drug users and their parents, this video features documentary interviews and a series of dramatic vignettes that bring to life the turmoil of a family torn apart by drugs.
Documentary interviews with parents and children explore the impact drugs can have on families and some strategies for positive parenting.
A series of short animations follow the story of a baby born to drug users, who, in turn, grows up to become drug dependent. How does one heal the wounds of the past in order to move on and become a loving parent oneself?
Can you still be a good parent regardless of whether or not you are drug free?
CASSA’s AOD team understands that in order to support drug users and their families to deal effectively with the effects of drug use, community values and attitudes must be challenged to reduce stigma and improve access to services.
Community education approaches aim to contribute to the evolution of community attitudes by implementing a range of community education strategies that reduce stigma, increase understanding and assist in building an environment that encourages access to support services. Additionally, community education strategies also aim to prevent substance misuse amongst young people.
Community Education strategies include:
Programs aimed at parents with children under the age of 18
The AOD team provides a range of programs that aim to increase parents’ understanding of issues related to AOD use. Our programs can be:
AOD workshops for young people
We provide a range of community education sessions to increase young people’s understanding of AOD use. These sessions include:
Providing outreach information and support at high schools
CASSA has a team of youth workers who work collaboratively with workers from the AOD team to provide outreach to different high schools. The aim of outreach is to:
Annual youth camp
The youth camp is an annual event aimed at creating an opportunity for young people from non-English speaking backgrounds to create and build social connections. The camp incurs a minimal cost for participants to attend and provides:
Overview
CASSA receives funding from the Government of South Australia through the Department of Health under the Police Drug Diversion Initiative program. The program provides assessment and counselling to individuals of Vietnamese and Chinese backgrounds from 10 years of age, who are referred to our services through the Police Drug Diversion Line for committing a minor drug related offences.
Aim
The service aims to:
Police Drug Diversion Initiative services
The Police Drug Diversion Initiative program provides one on one support, through the following services:
CASSA’s Clean Needle Program (CNP) is supported by the 2010-2015 National Drug Strategy that aims to reduce the harms associated with intravenous drug use. CASSA strongly believes this strategy is best suited to meet the needs of people from non-English speaking backgrounds who inject drugs.
Background
The CNP is part of a range of public health measures aimed at reducing the spread of blood borne viral infections like HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C amongst people who inject drugs and the wider community. The program has been highly successful in reducing harms associated with intravenous drug use.
CASSA’s CNP service was established in 2000 and since then has aimed at ensuring that people from non-English speaking communities have equal access to services that reduce the harms associated with injecting drug use.
CNP services assist in the reduction of harms by:
Who are we?
The CNP service is staffed by a committed team of peer educators under the guidance of a Coordinator. All workers are passionate about educating and supporting people using intravenous drugs to reduce harms from their use. Peer education involves the provision of education and information, in both formal and informal ways, by people with personal knowledge and exposure to injecting drug use, while not necessarily engaging in injecting drug use themselves. Peer Educators’ own personal experience directs their work, ensuring a sensibility to client issues and concerns.
All CNP staff are dedicated individuals who want to make a difference to the community and assist in reducing the stigma associated with AOD use. They do this by raising awareness amongst the community and ensuring that the voices of people who use intravenous drugs are heard.
CNP operating hours
The CNP provides the following services:
What can clients expect when visiting the CNP service?
Clients visiting the CNP service can expect to be attended to by a Peer Educator; if a Peer Educator is not available a member of the staff will attend to the clients concerns. Clients can expect to:
The Vietnamese Community in Australia /SA Chapter Inc. (VCASA) was established in 1978, as a result of the wave of boat people (refugees) who fled Vietnamese communism after the civil war ended. This community organisation was originally formed to address the settlement needs of Vietnamese people and advocate for socially disadvantaged people and those whose human rights have been violated.
62 Athol Street, Athol Park, SA 5012
+61 08 8447 8821
+61 08 8447 5527
admin@sa.vnca.org.au