Welcome to the new CAIS website. We have tried to make our new internet presence attractive, informative and easy to use for people seeking help and advice.
The launch of the new site coincides exactly with the anniversary of my appointment to CAIS. It has been a fascinating, testing and stimulating experience for me to be part of shaping the work of CAIS at a time of enormous change in public services.
Substance misuse persists as one of the key social challenges of our time - in fact its impact on all our lives grows by the day. In the face of losing job, support and hope, people respond in different ways. Some withdraw from the world they knew; some commit crime; some turn to drugs, alcohol or other consolations. We are entering a period of retrenchment in which, according to the TUC chief, Britain may become a "dark, brutish and frightening place". I certainly believe the next few years will require all of us, through our work or through our social connections, to look for the signs and symptoms of despair. There are choices to be made. For individuals it might mean the choice between fighting to thrive, and simply giving up. For communities, there may be a judgment between inclusion and ostracisation. For governments, there may be the opportunity to rethink policies that, driven by economic opportunity on the one hand and coercion on the other, have led to a cycle of nihilistic and costly disregard.
What is sure is that CAIS and its partner agencies can have a critical role in taking people out of despondency, tackling the culture of substance and service dependency, and changing opinions about the way we tackle substance misuse and the individuals who fall victim to it.
I am privileged to work alongside many talented and dedicated individuals who are capable of transforming lives; and I look forward to continuing the journey with them.
