The Times says that Dwain Chambers is looking to try and prevent young people falling into the same traps he fell into:
The sprinter, making his second comeback to the Great Britain team after completing his drugs ban in 2005, said that he wants to keep running for his country and plans to set up an anti-doping campaign to teach children about the errors of his ways. “I want to start going into schools, use myself as an example and tell kids to not go down the road I took,” he said.
Elsewhere, the Evening Telegraph in Northamptonshire reports on a drama with ex-users:
FORMER heroin addicts and alcoholics are warning young people about the dangers of drink and drugs.
Actors from Teen Challenge, a national Christian organisation, performed hard-hitting musical The Journey at the Reachout Community Church in Havelock Street, Wellingborough, on Thursday night.
Although the musical dealt with the serious issue of substance abuse, children of all ages were invited to attend.
There’s a lot of interest in the effectiveness of ex-users as part of drug education programmes at the moment, so if you have thoughts on this – or evidence you can share – I’d be grateful to receive it.
At the moment guidance to schools says:
Involving ex-users in drug education should be considered very carefully. Without sensitive handling they may arouse interest or glamorise drug use or describe experiences which young people may find it hard to relate to. In some instances they may unwittingly imply that their own drug use represents a ‘safe limit’ that can be copied. If they are to be involved, this should be because they are skilled in facilitating pupil learning and not simply by virtue of their status as a former user.
There’s some interesting comments in a post I did back in November last year on the appropriateness of ex-users in drug education here.
And given I’d not come across them before I did some further reading on Teen Challenge:
- Teen Challenge UK website.
- The Wikipedia page on Teen Challenge
- Investigating Teen Challenge - a blog that is hostile to the programme.
Filed under: celebrity, drug education , Dwain Chambers, ex-users, Teen Challenge
Education is more effective when it is relevant to the people being educated. Vita Nova is exploring using people who have been through addiction to deliver workshops that involve the participants. This can be in the form of forum theatre or other methods. This gives both the experiences or ‘authentic voice’ of people who have been through addiction and the reality of (and relevance to) the lives of the participants.