Launch of the DRIVE Project’s National Awareness campaign

We were delighted to attend the launch of the DRIVE Project’s National Awareness Campaign in the Department of Health this morning!

The DRIVE Project is a national project that aims to address the problem of drug-related intimidation (DRI) in our communities, and the launch of the Awareness campaign will be an important step to ensuring that people affected by DRI know that support and help is available within their local services.

The launch was hosted by Antoinette Kinsella, Co-ordinator for the Regional Drug and Alcohol Task Force and Chair of the National DRIVE Oversight Committee, and featured speeches from Minister Jennifer Murnane O’Connor and Minister Jim O’Callaghan, each emphasising the importance of an inter-departmental and multi-disciplinary approach to addressing drug-related intimidation. Dr Suzi Lyons, Senior Researcher at the Health Research Board spoke about some of the early patterns emerging from data collection on DRI. An Garda Síochána’s Deputy Commissioner Shawna Coxon and Siobhán Maher, Co-ordinator of the National DRIVE Office spoke respectively about the law enforcement and community level supports available to those experiencing DRI.  

The DRIVE Project has also recently started rolling out training to services across the country, including in Dublin's North Inner City, to help support staff in addiction, family support, and youth services with building their knowledge and confidence in how best to support people experiencing DRI.

We’d also like to acknowledge the key support of our Local Community Safety Partnership members, including An Garda Síochána, the HSE, the NEIC Programme Implementation Board, and Dublin City Council as key stakeholders for the North Inner City DRIVE Project, as well as the support of the North Inner city Drug & Alcohol Task Force allowing us to progress our North Inner City Community Safety Plan under Priority Area 1.4.

If you or a loved one are experiencing drug-related intimidation, visit www.driveproject.ie for information, or talk to someone in your local drug, alcohol, family support, or youth service.