Canal Communities Local Drugs Task Force: Service development plan.

The Canal Communities Local Drugs Task Force was set up in 1997 to develop a response to the drugs issue in the Rialto, Bluebell and Inchicore communities of the Dublin 8 postal district. This is the second service plan prepared by the Task Force and it presents a review of the work involved in implementing the first plan and an outline of future work to be done. A profile of the socio-economic position of the communities in the Task Force area is presented which shows that there has been little change in the period 1991-96, unemployment has actually increased, and there are a number of identifiable pockets of concentrated disadvantage in the area. An estimated 17.5% of males aged 15-24 in the area were using opiates in 1996. The consultation process involving community groups and voluntary organisations, which led to the drawing up of a list of targeted proposals, is described. These proposals are presented under the following headings: Continuum of Care, which covers education and prevention, treatment and rehabilitation; Community and Drugs, which describes the role of community development in regeneration and training; and Processes and Linkages, which examines the part played by research and evaluation in the development of services and the development of good models of practice. The work of a number of community groups in various aspects of combating the drug problem, supported by the Task Force, is briefly summarised