When families and friends are faced with the problem of drug abusers in their family, it is usually a very confusing and distressing time.The stigma attached to drug abuse often prevents people from sharing their problems even with close friends or other family mambers.
It is not only drug users who need help, but also the family, who are often faced with extremely heavy emotional demands.
RODA is a confidential and friendly self-help group, offering practical and emotional support to the families and friends of drug users. The people in the group have all experienced similar difficulties coping with a drug user and because of this they can relate to each others problems in an understanding and non-judgemental way.
RODA was initiated in 1994 by a couple of parents in the Parson Cross/Foxhill area who were faced with the harsh reality that a family member was involved in substance misuse. With the help of a Community Psychiatric Nurse they found a room where they could arrange to meet and discuss their feelings which remained taboo in the outside world. At this time, there was no other support in place for families of drug misusers and found after endless phone calls and cries for help that it was up to them to make a difference for others who may find themselves in their position.
Over the next couple of years the meetings grew as the problem escalated in their area. More members came forward and found a safe place to help support each other through their emotional distress.
At this point, with the help of two Community Development Workers, a Management Committee was structured, and funding was applied for and put in place by C.I.P. (Community Initiatives Programme) to employ a part-time Development Worker to further the projects aims.
As with all Voluntary sector projects, ongoing funding was a problem and the ongoing running of the project was in crisis in the summer of 1998. A successful Lottery bid in January of 1999 allowed the project to plan the three main aims for the next three years.
- To develop an outreach support service for family members in crisis, in their homes or on neutral ground.
- To increase awareness of the project by highlighting and targeting identified areas of need and networking with other organisations and community groups in the specified area.
- To recruit, select and train volunteers to assist in the ongoing running of the project.
We now have over 100 members on our mailing list. Many of these members do not wish to attend a support group meeting, but use the telephone to receive one to one support. We do a mail out once a month to update our members on services available. We also produce a Newsletter every three months. Our Management Committee meet every month to discuss the business side of the project,which is open to any member who would like to be involved further. Volunteers are also encouraged to attend.
Telephone: 0114 231 4443
Write to:
Relatives of Drug Abusers (RODA),
The Ecclesfield Support Unit,
712 Wordsworth Avenue,
Sheffield 5
RODA run many various groups, click for more info
Click here to find out more about the government’s ten-year drug strategy.
