CASP Community Substance Misuse Team celebrates 10 years of service in the Mid-West

CASP Community Substance Misuse Team celebrates 10 years of service in the Mid-West

Community Substance Misuse Team (CSMT) will be celebrating 10 years of providing support to young substance misusers and families in Limerick, North Tipperary and Clare

Established in 2012, managed by Clondalkin Addiction Support Programme, CASP, and funded through the MWRDAF, CSMT provides individual support to young people from 13 – 23 years and their families impacted by substance misuse, within a range of local community settings, throughout the Mid-West region, with an office in Arthur’s Quay, Limerick City.

Young people availing of the CSMT service are encouraged to explore and develop life and coping skills as alternatives to substance misuse. There is a strong focus on encouraging young people to re-engage or begin to engage in pro-social behaviour such as sport, exercise and other positive activities to encourage social connections, positive mental health and a reduction or complete cessation of substance misuse.

Most teens do not escalate from trying drugs to developing an addiction, but experimenting with substances can become a problem and be a part of a pattern of risky behaviour such as unsafe sex, driving while under the influence or other hazardous, unsupervised activities.

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When a young person develops a pattern of repeated substance misuse, it can result in social and health risks such as school attendance and achievements, problems with family and other relationships, loss of interest in normal healthy activities, impaired memory, increased risk of contracting an infectious disease (like HIV or hepatitis C) via risky sexual behaviour or sharing contaminated injection equipment, mental health problems—including substance use disorders of varying severity and the very real risk of overdose death’ (NIDA, 2014).

CSMT also supports families of young people who are substance misusing, this work empowers families to create and maintain a home environment that supports adolescents through their journey. To celebrate this important work, an event will be held in City Hall (Istabraq hall) on the 17th of May 2023.

This event will present some of the achievements over the past 10 years and will include a panel discussion where CSMT staff will speak about their roles, their approach, and their experiences of what has worked for young people and family members.

John Lonergan, ex-Governor of Mountjoy Prison will also be speaking at the event about his experiences throughout his long career. Those present will have the opportunity to ask questions to all those speaking.

For more information about CSMT and to make a referral, phone 061318904 or visit here.
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