Addicted to fighting drugs

Her official job title is co-ordinator of Swindon Drug Action Team (DAT) and for the last year she has been advising the co-ordinators in other parts of South West Britain how best to do their job.

Although she enjoyed her advisory role she wanted to do more hands-on work, and that is why she applied to be the first drugs czar in the town which is also her home.

"I live in Swindon and I am very interested in helping the community and would like to think I could make a positive difference to it," explained Jennie, 44.

Having lived in the town for several years, she believes she has a good grasp of the drug problems in the borough.

"Drug misuse is borough-wide and not restricted to pockets of the community.

"It is a problem which cuts across age and class in Swindon. It is not a case of kids on certain estates taking drugs it's much wider than that. In Swindon you will find that people don't usually turn to crime to feed their drug habit. Their good jobs mean they can pay for drugs themselves."

Jennie and the DAT are in charge of implementing the Government's 10-year anti-drug strategy in the borough of Swindon. They are meeting on Thursday, November 30, to set targets and to discuss various strategies, and next year their aims and work will come under the scrutiny of the Government's cabinet.

The DAT is a small group consisting of representatives at the highest level from the police, probation service, prison service and Swindon Council's education, community and social services departments. It is chaired by Mike Lusty, the council's director of education and community.

The group's aims have been split into four young people, treatment, community and availability of drugs.

Members hope to deter young people from becoming hooked on drugs and help those who already are, treat addicts of all ages, involve the community in the war against drugs and stifle the availability of toxic substances in the town.

Jennie admitted there would be a small element of trial and error, as with any new initiative.

"We need to concentrate on what works and what is effective. But we will not be working completely from scratch. There is already a lot of research that has been done and different drug action teams around the country are able to share their good practices with us."

As co-ordinator Jennie's responsibilities involve bringing together all the groups in Swindon affected by drug issues and encouraging them to work together, as well as identifying potential sources of funding and working out how it can best be used, and making sure groups and individuals receive the best advice on how to prevent and treat drug misuse.

Not only will the obvious groups be involved, like Druglink, but others which have an indirect yet important influence on the drugs scene.

"We will be bringing together leisure and recreational groups who can divert young people away from drugs by keeping them off the street and giving them something to occupy their time with," said Jennie. "We aim to bring different groups together, including parents' groups and youth clubs, and have them working together and building on the good work which already exists.

"It is all part of making the people who are doing the work feel as though they are part of the bigger picture."

After leaving school Jennie trained as a nurse in Coventry, before becoming a midwife in Leicester and then a teacher in Somerset, where she also took a Masters degree in education.

She became a specialist teacher in personal, social and health education, including drug issues. She also taught health-related subjects in further and higher education establishments.

Three years ago Jennie moved to Swindon as an advisory teacher, which meant she helped other teachers develop drug policies in schools and advised them on how to manage drug-related incidents.

In February 1999 she organised a drug conference in the town and soon afterwards took up a new job with the Home Office as South West regional drug prevention adviser.

"This meant I supported DAT co-ordinators for the Poole, Bournemouth, Dorset and Swindon and Wiltshire drug action teams, made them aware of funding streams and what worked best.

"Then the Government decided they wanted a drug action team for each local authority area, so Wiltshire and Swindon were given money for one each.

"At the time I was travelling around the region visiting people but I missed the hands-on approach, so I applied to be the co-ordinator for Swindon.

"I don't think Swindon has any more of a problem then any other large town or city. But like any other town we need to look at making sure the vulnerable people, who are most at risk of becoming drug misusers, get the help they need."

Jennie said there were various sources of funding coming into schools, support groups, the local authority and other organisations all the time, but it was up to the drug action team to make sure the money was spent as effectively as possible.

Last week for example David Blunkett, Secretary of State for Education and Employment, announced £52,140 for Swindon to deliver a better drug-education programme for young people. The rest of Wiltshire has been allocated £112,050.

This money is part of the £7.5 million set aside by the Government to ensure all children in the country get a high standard of drug education. The cash will be spent on up to date training for teachers and making sure all schools have access to a local drugs advisor.

Jennie has two teenage children of her own, Laura, 15, and Greg, 17. "I have always taken the view as a parent that you need to discuss issues like drugs openly with your children. I have read literature and informed myself to make sure I am up to date when my children have any questions.

"I have often found through my work that young people want to talk to their parents about drugs but can't. Some parents do not know enough about the subject and others may be experts but do not know how to communicate with their children." Every year Jennie and the DAT will have to write a report on their work and the strategies planned for the future. This will be sent to the Government's cabinet office for inspection at the end of every April and then the team will be visited by national drug czar Keith Hellawell or his deputy.

"We are not 'here today gone tomorrow' the Government's 10-year plan, published in October 1998, is part of a White Paper and if the Conservatives got into power they would still place drug issues near the top of their agenda, as demonstrated in their latest party conference," said Jennie. "The fact our DAT is subject to national scrutiny means we are not just another talking shop. We are here to get things done and if we don't there will be questions asked."