DETOX WORKER COMMENDED

CHRISSIE Hall-Pascoe, of Dickson, has spent 14 rewarding years working with
drug-dependents, so her Australia Day Certificate of Commendation from the
Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia was just the icing on the cake.

Ms Hall-Pascoe, who started out as a volunteer helper in a detox centre,
said the work could be tough at times but her belief in its importance kept
her motivated.

"I have a passion for the client group and a very strong passion to keep the
community informed and to limit the harm of drug use," she said.

As well as periods with various Assisting Drug Dependents programs in the
ACT she has worked on drug and alcohol education campaigns in ACT schools
and was the drug and alcohol counsellor at Philip College (now Canberra
College) for 12 months.

Her professional philosophy has always been to try to work within the
realities of drug-dependence, minimising harm until users are ready to give
up for themselves.

"Most people grow out of drug use and we just try to help them stay alive
and free of blood-borne diseases until they do," she said. It's an approach
very much in accord with that of the ADCA, a national organisation which
presents awards every year for people it considers to have made outstanding
to contributions to reducing the harm of drug use.

ADCA chief executive David Crosbie said the awards acknowledged the
importance of such people and their role in saving lives.

"It is important to recognise that behind the rhetoric and sensationalism
surrounding drug use, there are many people who give all they can to make a
difference, to reduce drug problems. I hope these awards provide some public
acknowledgment of the exceptional work of these special people."

But the harm minimisation approach remains controversial, with some critics
arguing that it merely prolongs the problem by helping users manage and
maintain their habit.

Ms Hall-Pascoe disagrees.

"Harm reduction encompasses all methods -right through to abstinence - it's
about catering for everyone at every stage of their drug use," she said.

She compares the approach to Australia's successful anti skin cancer public
health campaign. People will expose themselves to the dangerous summer sun
whatever the experts say - the realistic solution is to try to minimise the
risk.

"We encourage people to slip, slop, slap," Ms Hall-Pascoe says.