Behind every statistic is a person; a family member, a friend, a neighbour and a life that matters.
Drug and alcohol harm affects individuals, families and communities across Reading. It contributes to poor health, inequality, omelessness, family breakdown and, too often, preventable deaths. Yet addiction is never the whole story. Many people affected by drugs and alcohol have also experienced trauma, poor mental health, poverty or social exclusion and as a result have lost access to the building blocks of health. If we want better outcomes that individuals, families, communities and services can benefit from then we must look beyond the addiction and understand the person and the context of their lived experience.