Ballymun Community Alcohol Strategy

A Community Mobilisation ProjectHugh Greaves

September, 2010

Purpose of this input

• To recognise the impact alcohol has at a local level in one community

• To convey why it is important to the Ballymun LDTF to address local alcohol related issues

• To outline how we went about compiling the Ballymun Community Alcohol Strategy

• To discuss some of its key objectives

Alcohol Use in Ballymun(2007)• Lifetime use of alcohol is the same in

Ballymun as national (90.3% v 90.7%)• In the younger age range, differences become

more obvious:- Ever tried: 15-34yrs -90.5% v 94.6%;

15-24yrs – 87% v 96.5%- Last month: 15-24 – 70.4% v 84.7%

• Current drinkers ‘binging’ weekly: 27% v 63%• “Never binge”: 29.5% v 10%

Local Alcohol Environment• As with most Irish towns, Ballymun is caught in

a virtual ‘pincer movement’ when it comes to alcohol.

• Ten new outlets have opened locally (within 2 square miles) in the past 10 years or so, making alcohol even more available (16 outlets);

• Price reductions and promotions have meant that it is easily accessible. Even if you’re practically skint, you can get drunk for a tenner;

Local Alcohol Environment

• Culture of home drinking and alcohol home deliveries (dial-a-can, text-a-can, etc) has significantly reduced the control environment – in terms of access and behaviour;

“we have the situation where parents are buying trays of cans for their kids to celebrate Junior

Cert results……they feel it is safer to have them drinking at

home than out on the street”

Deputy Principal of local secondary school

Local Alcohol EnvironmentIrish community norms seem to forgive getting drunk; locally they could be even seen to encourage it.

“When you see the sun shine in Ballymun, you know it is going to be a bad evening”

(participant at community focus group on alcohol, June 2010)

Evidence of alcohol related harm

• While it is difficult to obtain reliable, localised data, all indications are that the level of alcohol related harm is comparable to/exceeds national levels.

• For example: In 2008 Gardai reported that 60% of crime committed by local juveniles is “directly alcohol related”, local acute hospital reported that 50% of A&E visits were alcohol related (28% nationally)

Community Indicators

• In 2009-2010, Ballymun LDTF and the Safer Ballymun (Community Policing Forum) held two ‘Roundtable’ discussions on alcohol related harm in Ballymun.

• We invited reps from statutory, community and voluntary agencies to these events, asking them to report on how they as an agencies/services encountered alcohol related harm in the Ballymun area.

Roundtable discussion on alcohol related harm in Ballymun

Community Indicators• Family disturbances/breakdown• Violence / Public Disorder• Vandalism• Part of the poly-drug use cocktail• Poorer parenting• Accepted by parents as a ‘lesser evil’• Poorer engagement in school/educational outcomes• Accidents, injuries, emergencies, medical conditions • Mental health issues• Unprotected sex• Poverty

Agreement to collectively address alcohol related harm in Ballymun

• At the first roundtable event, each of the organisations present agreed to become part of a collective response to address alcohol related harm/issues

• It was agreed to do so in a ‘community-systemic way’, learning from effective responses elsewhere.

Approach

• The Ballymun Community Alcohol Strategy takes a public-health based (total consumption) approach

“a small change to a large population has a greater effect than a large change to a smaller population” (Dr. Joe Barry)

• It is modelled on community mobilisation principles where all local actors have an important part to play and are equally involved.

• While at the moment it is primarily a bottom-up initiative, it is hoped that the project can benefit from top down attention through the impending National Substance Misuse Strategy and being designated as a pilot/experimental area within this new national strategy, which Minister Carey announced at the launch of the Strategy in June

Ballymun Plan launched

So what are we trying to do?We are trying to increase awareness of alcohol related

harm across the community – by local people, local public reps, statutory and voluntary services/agencies.

We are trying to influence the attitudes and norms of the local population towards a change in its behaviour around alcohol and its role in determining the local alcohol environment (from passive to proactive)

We are trying to change local environmental systems which foster and promote a harmful drinking culture

How do we propose to do this?

Our Strategy consists of 44 ‘actions’ under the headings of:

1. Supply reduction, availability and enforcement2. Community awareness3. Treatment and Rehabilitation4. Prevention and Education5. Harm reduction6. Policy and research

Examples of actions

Supply, Availability & Enforcement

• Development of a local policing strategy - underage sales, drinking in public places, drink driving, secondary purchasing, home deliveries, national age cards, supervision of high-risk areas

• Attempt to control number & density of outlets -6 monthly assessments of number of outlets, protocol to inform community of applications/renewal hearings,

Where do they get it from?

Supply Reduction actions

• Seek to influence and support provisions in draft Dublin City Development plan re alcohol retail planning regulations

• Work with local retailers re code of practice –Responsible server training, deliveries, national age cards,

• Advocate for: cessation of home deliveries/distance sales, cessation of pricing promotions, minimum pricing standards, cessation of sports sponsorship

Community Awareness actions

• Influence community perceptions/norms provide grant aid for health promotion/family fun

events, host ‘Funky Seomra’ type events• Promote pro-health/social modelling behaviour

among local adults through use of local media, etc (e.g. Junior Cert results cinema promotion)

• Use media to gain support for community policy initiatives – develop thematic articles, newsletters, etc.

Treatment & Rehabilitation actions

• Seek to provide access to full range of appropriate responses to engage those with problematic alcohol issues

• Promote/provide annual training on: brief-advice, referral options, family support and other appropriate training for specialist and generic service providers

Harm reduction actions• Seek reduction in direct and indirect harm for

those unwilling/unable to control problematic drinking

- Support provision of appropriate low threshold day/evening based services

- Promote engagement in low threshold residential services

- Support ongoing provision of food based services- Seek provision of CCTV in areas where alcohol

related violence periodically occurs

Prevention & Education actions

• Support/promote evidence based alcohol/drug education programmes

- Provide training in quality standards in Drug/alcohol training

- Promote greater use of SPHE- Deliver evidence based family skills training

(e.g. Strengthening Families Programme)

Policy & Research actions• Monitor and report on the implementation of

the Strategy- Develop monitoring framework and annual

report format• Obtain regular updates on indicators which

would give snapshots of local drinking practices, consumption patterns, behaviours and attitudes

• Communicate and promote local experience to inform wider policy debates/agendas

A new temperance movement for Ballymun?

Where do we hope to go?

• Strategic Task Force sought to bring Irish consumption levels in line with EU average and we would seek to proceed in this direction also.

• Two useful indicators for us would be to bring binge and underage drinking patterns in line with national levels. If we were to achieve this after three years then we will see the first period of this project as a success.