More addicts join treatment project

The flow of those who have become dependent on illegal substances such as heroin, crack cocaine, amphetamines and cocaine ensures a busy time for the Clock Project in the High Street.

Its 11-strong staff have 45 clients in their current treatment programme.

The project's organiser, Crime Reduction Initiatives, funded by the West Sussex Drug and Alcohol Action team, opened its doors yesterday to publicise its work.

The event was held to mark national tackling drugs day. CRI area manager Becky de Sancha said more amphetamine and cocaine users had been seen in the past year compared to previous years.

This was encouraging because neither drug had a substitute substance which addicts could take as part of their treatment. This meant the individuals had to give up entirely.

She explained: 'Ninety-nine per cent of the people we see here self-refer themselves.

'We have a drop-in policy where people can just walk in through the door and be assessed.

'There is no waiting time before we are able to refer them on to other agencies or take them on.

'It is unusual not to have a waiting time. But we think it is important.'

Those who attend the project span the age scale from 18 to 65 and are men and women. One has just become the first peer mentor for CRI in West Sussex.

He has undergone a 12-week training course after being a client because of an addiction and is about to take his initial current client through the programme aimed to changing behaviour away from relying on addictive substances.

'Our main aim is to prevent harm to the individual and the community,' stated Ms de Sancha.

'We start by having a needle exchange service and work with people to reduce their drugs use and, hopefully, stop using completely.

'That way, they stop committing crime and can live normal lives again.'