Community Based Peer Led Intervention
Community Based Peer Led Intervention
Alternative to Addiction Creating Centre implemented Community Based Peer Led Intervention (CPLI) project under National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR) at Ghaziabad District of Uttar Pradesh with the support from NISD (National Institute of Social Defense), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Govt. of India, New Delhi.
Objectives of the Program
Various studies reported that substance initiation begins at an early age due to vulnerabilities perpetuated through acute poverty, social inequalities and other social reasons. Poly substance use (consumption of more than one substance at a period) is common among adolescents.
Children and adolescents living in the street, slums and homeless, become particularly vulnerable to substance abuse in such high risk circumstances. Relapse rate is also high in this group due to lack of family and community support compared to others.
Ensuring active participation of young people, they may be empowered to prevent and disseminate information on substance abuse prevention. The notion is that the young people learn from each other, that peers have greater credibility among young people and have a shared cultural background. For this purpose, peer led intervention would be the appropriate strategy for reducing the substance use among the young people.
Through peer led intervention the aim is to reach children and early adolescents who are:
- Vulnerable non-users
- Experimental users who have discontinued
Objectives
- To assess substance use among adolescents in impoverished & marginalized communities
- Conduct primary prevention activities through awareness programs
- Engage in risk mitigation of substance use among children/ adolescent/youth by:
- Preventing substance use
- Delaying initiation of substance use
- Identify and train selected peer educators in the community
- Implement early prevention education led by trained peer educators
- To provide awareness about referral and linkage to counseling, treatment and rehabilitation services for substance dependent adolescents identified in the community
- Identifying adolescents subjected to substance abuse and facilitating their admission into Rehabilitation Centres/ ODICs