National
Assembly for Wales / Cynulliad Cenedlaethol
Cymru
Health
and Social Care Committee /
Y Pwyllgor Iechyd a Gofal Cymdeithasol
Inquiry into alcohol and substance misuse / Ymchwiliad i gamddefnyddio alcohol a sylweddau
Evidence from PRISM – ASM(Q) 15 / Tystiolaeth gan PRISM – ASM(Q) 15
Inquiry into alcohol and substance misuse
Survey Consultation Response
Organisation: PRISM
Questionnaire
01. Which client group(s) do you work with? (For example, under 18s, older persons, homeless, or female only)
16 – 75; older people, homeless, male and female.
02. What are the main reasons why your clients take drugs or drink excessively? Please tick all that apply.
If you work with more than one client group or you feel that there are other reasons as to why your clients take drugs or drink excessively, please comment in the box below.
§ Peer pressure;
§ A way to deal with stress;
§ Client(s) already substance reliant;
§ Mental health;
§ Boost confidence;
§ Relieve social anxiety;
§ Environmental factors (for example – excessive drinking and/or drugs normalised in the home/community)
§ Relationship problems;
§ Financial concerns;
§ Self-medication;
§ Escapism.
03. Are there certain groups of people who are more likely to be affected by drugs and excessive drinking? If so, which groups might they be?
Not in my experience, alcohol is a substance that can affect anyone.
04. Does a particular stage of your clients’ lives influence their likelihood of taking drugs or drinking excessively? If so, what stage might that be? (i.e. age, relationship breakdown, unemployment etc.)
Relationship breakdown, loss of employment, anxiety, stress, age, domestic abuse etc.
05. What barriers exist for your client(s) when trying to access support and services?
Shame, denial, poor experience with previous services, social service involvement, illness, child care, transport, finances etc.
06. What barriers exist for services when trying to access support for client(s)?
Lack of child care support or cover for child, staffing. However, PRISM always endeavour to meet the needs of service users.
07. What do you consider to be barriers for staff and frontline services in working with your client group(s), or substance misuse generally?
Motivation, social service input, unmanageable consumption of substances.
08. Where do you think efforts should be targeted to address the issue of alcohol and substance misuse in Wales?
Schools, access to services for rural and hard to reach communities, advertising and funding.
09. In which local authority area do you work? If you work outside of Wales, please write your local authority area below.
Carmarthenshire.
Contact Details
PRISM