Women and drugs: the experience of the Saol Project.

This paper recounts the experiences of the SAOL Project over a 14 month period. It includes a description of the context in which SAOL operates and the project's work with women who are drug users in the North Inner City of Dublin. The SAOL Project is a two year pilot programme for former and stable women drug users. The aim is to move from addiction and dependency to self direction and self reliance, it operates on the basis of social justice, adult education and community development principles, and focuses on re-integration into the community. SAOL does not operate an abstinence model. Use of methadone maintenance is an informed decision by its clients. Drug use for women is interconnected with the problems of poor housing, domestic abuse, low levels of nutrition and medical services. Often a woman drug user is frightened to say that she cannot cope because this type of exposure might suggest to the authorities the she is not a capable mothe