Media Release - Family Drug Support Day 2017 An International Success

27 February 2017

Family Drug Support Day 2017
An International Success

Tony Trimingham, the Founder and CEO of Family Drug Support, has described how proud and humbled he is with the successful number of events held in Australia and around the world for Family Drug Support Day

“Families suffering the pain, stigma and shame of drug use would be so heartened to see the incredible community and political support for them” said Tony Trimingham

20 years after the death of his son Damien from a heroin overdose, Tony Trimingham delivered a set of key recommendations and actions for Governments to address the harms from drug use for families.

International Family Drug Support Day 2017

In the addresses at the events held at the Sydney, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia Parliament Houses, Mr Tony Trimingham (CEO, Family Drug Support) will call for the following major requirements.

Media Release - Saving Lives - Preventing And Treating Overdose

23 February 2017

Saving Lives - Preventing And Treating Overdose

The Andrews Labor Government is improving access to life-saving Naloxone and strengthening support for overdose survivors to help reduce the number of people dying of drug overdoses across Victoria.

Minister for Mental Health Martin Foley made the announcement during a keynote address on National Family Drug Support Day, which aims to raise awareness of the pain, anguish and challenges faced by families of drug users.

The $1.3 million package will subsidise the cost of Naloxone to drug users or families struggling to afford it and provide an outreach service to personally follow up drug users who have survived an overdose.

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Press Release - Help Not Handcuffs

Press Release

Contact:
Randy Thompson
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908-444-2449

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Families for Sensible Drug Policy and Help Not Handcuffs Join Forces with Global Partners for International Family Drug Support Day

New Jersey (February 22, 2017) – International Family Drug Support Day is a global event on February 24th, which aims to highlight the need for families impacted by substance use to not only be recognized and heard, but to be supported and encouraged to speak about their concerns and needs in drug policy. This year, U.S. based non-profit organizations; Families for Sensible Drug Policy and Help Not Handcuffs are joining forces with global partners to spread the message of International Family Drug Support Day, which is “See the Person Not the Drug.”

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Media Statement - See the person, not the drug

23 February 2017

See the person, not the drug

Queensland will take part in a campaign to end the shame and stigma often experienced by families of people living with problematic alcohol or other drug use.

National Family Drug Support Day on 24 February highlights the need to look past the stigma of drug use and instead see the person who is someone’s son, daughter, sister, brother, mother or father.

Prominent campaigner Tony Trimingham of Family Drug Support said: “Behind every statistic of a drug-related overdose death, arrest or hospitalisation there is a family suffering pain. All too often in a cloud of stigma and shame.”

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CAMPAIGNER TO CALL FOR AN END TO THE ‘WAR ON DRUGS’ AT NATIONAL FAMILY DRUG SUPPORT EVENTS

MEDIA RELEASE

CAMPAIGNER TO CALL FOR AN END TO THE ‘WAR ON DRUGS’ AT NATIONAL FAMILY DRUG SUPPORT EVENTS

Venue: The Theatrette, NSW Parliament House, 6 Macquarie St Sydney

Time and date: 6:30 pm - Wed 22 Feb 2017

For more information and to register: http://nationalfdsday.fds.org.au

20 years after the death of his son Damien from a heroin overdose, prominent campaigner Tony Trimingham is set to deliver recommendations to Government focusing on harm reduction at an event to mark the annual National Family Drug Support Day. As part of these recommendations he will call for an end to the ‘war on drugs’ and instead advocate the introduction of 8 harm reduction measures.

Mr Trimingham will summarise the learnings from working with drug affected families through the service he founded in 1997, Family Drug Support (FDS) and present the key recommendations that instead focus on positive change and reducing harms rather than punishing people.

Mr Trimingham commented, “The Government needs to call time on this pointless war on drugs and stop wasting scarce resources by locking up the easiest targets, the end user. Drug use is a health issue not a crime issue and families want services that assist their children not punish and criminalise them.”