WEARSIDE CHILDREN'S DRINK AND DRUG ABUSE

Hundreds of Wearside children are being referred for help due to
concerns about drug and alcohol misuse.

Figures released to the Echo reveal boys and girls, under the age of
14, are receiving support or testing for cannabis, booze and solvent issues.

Sunderland Youth Drug and Alcohol Service had 142 referrals made to
them regarding under 18s with alcohol-related problems during a
12-month period.

While, according to statistics obtained under the Freedom of
Information Act, 182 were made for drug concerns, including one under
14-year-old supported for multi-drug use. According to Alcohol
Concern, the quantity of booze consumed by 11 to 15-year-olds in the
area has more than doubled in the past 10 years.

Frank Sooden, from the organisation, said: "In 1990, these young
people were drinking 5.3 units. This has now doubled to 10.5 units.

"The proportion of young people drinking at least once a week has
also increased from 13 per cent to 17 per cent in the past decade."

Plummeting prices for killer drugs, including Ecstasy and heroin,
also means young people are able to afford and get access to illegal
substances. Sunderland YDAS is on hand to offer specialist services
for children with drug and alcohol problems.

It works with young people whose drug use is, or who has the
potential to become, problematic.

During the past year, 13 children under the age of 14 received
support or testing for alcohol problems, while 16 were given similar
treatment for cannabis issues. Three were helped for solvent-related problems.

As well as their referrals, the council-led scheme receives up to 400
calls every year from anxious parents, confused young people and
health professionals.

A spokesman for Sunderland Council said: "The project takes referrals
from any source, in person, by telephone or letter. It aims to see
young people within five working days.

"The ethos of the service is that it always puts the welfare of the
children and young people first. It works with them to address all
their needs, including education, employment and accommodation."

Police in Sunderland are taking action against young people who are
caught drinking or using drugs in the city's streets and parks.

During recent weeks, officers have acted to remove makeshift drug and
booze dens at Burn Park Fields behind Rainton Meadows Industrial
Estate have also been cleared by police after drug-fuelled teens
could regularly be seen during the evenings.

Frank, the Government-led drugs helpline aimed at young people, today
sent out a message: "Taking any drug is a risk.

"You can never be 100 per cent sure what you are taking and the
effects depend on things like your mood and how much you take, so you
can't be sure how you will feel.

"What's more, for every high there comes a low - the comedown can be
grim, and of course drugs can be addictive, very expensive and can
end up taking over your life.

"Don't feel under pressure to try anything you're not sure about.

Your friends should respect you more if you are assertive and clear
about what you do and don't want to do."

I've come full circle says former user

AT 13, Daren Jacob started sniffing glue as a joke with friends.

The following year, he had moved on to cannabis, a habit which would
plague his life for the next two decades.

During his teenage years, Daren dabbled in Ecstasy and cocaine, in
between spending time in and out of youth remand centres.

His early life blighted by drugs, he found it almost impossible to
escape the cycle of substance and alcohol abuse that was engulfing his life.

Daren, 37, said: "In those days, there was nothing to help young drug
users, no support, no drop-in centres, we were left to deal with
everything ourselves."

Plagued by family problems, Daren, from Hendon, Sunderland, would
spend his teenage years on school fields or down beside the river
Wear smoking joints and sniffing glue.

He said: "Even before that, I remember sniffing the glue from my
puncture repair kit when I was changing the wheel on my bike."

Falling in with the wrong crowd, Daren's drug abuse led to criminal
activities, including burglary, assaults and criminal damage.

He was just 14 years old when he was first sent to a youth remand centre.

Clean for the past three years, he added: "By 16, I'd basically
decided that there was no future for me.

"I was living in an area where crime and poverty was classed as normal.

"I'd learning difficulties at school which were not picked up, I
could not read or write properly and there wasn't much chance of a job."

In six weeks time, Daren's girlfriend Danielle, 19, will give birth
to their first child, a baby boy. It is a day he has waited many years for.

He added: "I will be there to show him the right path to take, to let
him know where I went wrong and what he can do to make sure he does
the right thing."

Today, Daren is a partner in Voice North East, a scheme, based at 27
Bridge Street, Sunderland, that aims to offer monitoring and advocacy
to substance misusers.

He added: "We are going to be up and running in the next couple of
months. You could say, I've come full circle."

Anyone who would like support from Voice North East or find out more,
tel. 0800 4320 984 .

* THE cycle of destruction between drug misuse and youth crime was
highlighted by a unique Wearside drugs programme.

The former Washington Integrated Project played a vital role in
helping slash crime rates across Washington.

The scheme, which has now been incorporated into other drug
initiatives, rounded-up some of the area's most persistent heroin
users, offering them a chance to rebuild their lives.

As a result of hard work put in by staff, crime caused by 50 hardcore
drug addicts almost halved, while house burglaries fell by 86 per cent.

The project ended last year - no replacement has been put in place.