A local charity in Dundee has received a crucial donation of £52,832 from the Asda Foundation, which will save the project from closure.
Young Addaction Dundee is a young person’s outreach project devised by Addaction, one of the UK’s leading specialist drug, alcohol and mental health charities, and delivered in partnership with a young person’s community service known as The Corner, where the project is based.
The project works in close partnership with local schools, off-site education units, health clinics, A&E, community clubs and the police in Dundee to reach out to young people and offer advice and information around alcohol and drugs, including New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) or so-called ‘legal highs’.
The Addaction team also work with local community organisations to deliver workshops on identification of young people at risk, delivering brief intervention training and providing support to parents. The project regularly uses two local Asda stores in Dundee, Kirkton and Milton, to hold information stands in the store foyers, providing friendly support and advice in an accessible community location.
Young Addaction Dundee is the only service of its kind in the city and reaches around 4,000 young people every year. The project began in 2014 with funding from Asda, meeting an urgent need in Dundee for preventative work around substance misuse. After proving its value to the local community, the project soon secured ongoing funding from the Dundee Alcohol and Drug Partnership. Unfortunately recent funding cuts meant the project was at risk of closure, until the Asda Foundation quickly agreed to step in. Addaction would love to hear from other local businesses with an interest in supporting their work in Dundee.
Psychoactive drugs have been a serious and growing problem in Dundee over recent years, with many young people unaware of the dangers they pose. Teachers told Addaction they didn’t have the knowledge or resources to teach their pupils about the risks, and other community services were overstretched.
The application to the Asda Foundation by Young Addaction Dundee was supported by Asda Community Champions at the Asda Milton and Kirkton superstores. Both stores have worked closely with the project since it opened two years ago, serving as a ‘gateway to the community’ for the Addaction team.
Yvanne McLaren, Community Champion at Asda Milton, said, “We are very proud to have helped Young Addaction Dundee secure this grant from the Asda Foundation. Asda has been involved in the project from the outset and we’ve seen first-hand the tremendous work Addaction does to support children and young people in Dundee. The impact of the project has been amazing and we’re so excited to see what they achieve next.”
Andrew Horne, Director Addaction Scotland said: “We are so proud of the work we do with Young Addaction Dundee -we have delivered training to thousands of children across the city helping them to make positive choices. We were devastated when we learnt that the project was not going to be funded due to a new round of cuts. You can imagine our relief when Asda came to the rescue with such a generous donation. Now the project can be delivered to even more young people across Dundee.”
Julie Ward, Asda Foundation manager, said: “At Asda, we are committed to making the communities around our stores better places to live and work. One of the ways we do this is through the Asda Foundation, and each project we support is nominated by our colleagues or customers. For us, sharing their passion is the ideal way to give something back to the local communities that support us.
“Supporting local projects like Young Addaction Dundee is really important to us, and we hope it will make a real difference to the Dundee community.”
Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee City East and Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport, commented: "I am delighted that Young Addaction Dundee has been awarded this impressive level of funding from the Asda Foundation.
"I have visited Young Addaction Dundee and witnessed first-hand the brilliant work they do around the city. It is an organisation that provides an invaluable service by speaking to our young people about drug and alcohol prevention.
"I wish them all of the very best. I would also like to thank the Asda Foundation for their generous donation and look forward to working with both organisations in the future."
To find out more about the Asda Foundation, or eligibility for submitting a funding application, please contact the Community Champion at your local Asda store, or go to: http://charities.asda.com/asda-foundation/