PRINCIPALS AND GUIDANCE counsellors from some of the island’s secondary schools attended a seminar on Youth and Addiction at Verdun House, St John this morning.
The aim was to alert them to the signs that someone is in trouble and in need of help.
Clinical director of The Substance Abuse Foundation Jacqui Lewis said one challenge they see at Verdun House is that young men around 18-years-old are being seen for addiction, which speaks to drug use which started at too early an age.
“When he presents at the courts or Verdun House that is when we recognise the disease, but the disease had started a long time ago. So it is generally when he gets to our doors that he has hit the bottom,” Lewis said.
In addition, Lewis a facility to treat females should be available by August this year.
She said though she could not quote figures to say how much drug use had increased among the female population, there was obviously a need for the facility based on the inquiries about treatment options within the last ten years. (LK)
