Whether juggling family and work commitments to provide care a few hours a week, or caring 24 hours each day, if you provide regular help and support to a partner, relative or friend because they cannot manage without your help, then Carers Link is here for you.
In East Dunbartonshire 1 Person in 8 is a Carer.
Not everyone with a dependency is willing to accept help. Often people see no need and will not accept that their behaviour is causing problems both for themselves and for others.
If the person wants help -
Encourage them to take responsibility by getting them to call a local service. The Community Addictions Team will offer an assessment of need within 10 working days and will develop a treatment plan with the person. As long as the person consents, the care plan can be discussed with you as a Carer.
If the person doesn’t want help -
If the person you care for doesn’t want help, it may be better to leave leaflets and information for them to reconsider this at a later date. Getting help and facing up to an addiction can be very stressful and frightening - all you can do is encourage. Simply because someone does not want help now does not necessarily mean that they will not want help in the future. However, you may want to consider how to reduce the impact of the person’s drug/alcohol use or gambling on those around them and seek help yourself as a Carer from Carers Link or ARC.
Support in East Dunbartonshire
Knowing how to help and support someone with a dependency is complicated and can be frustrating, which is why there are specialised agencies to support you and the person you are caring for.
Carers Link East Dunbartonshire is the local Carer organisation, providing information, advocacy and one-to-one support, as well as a range of Carer information sessions and informal groups.
East Dunbartonshire Community Addiction Team (CAT) can provide help and information about treatment options, support opportunities and general addiction issues. They are based in Kirkintilloch at the new Health & Care Centre (Saramago Street) with local access available in various locations throughout East Dunbartonshire including Milngavie, Twechar and Lennoxtown. The team accept referrals from individuals or other agencies - just call 0141 232 8211 between Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.
East Dunbartonshire Community Addiction Team is a partnership between NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and East Dunbartonshire Council. All their services are community based and include:
Comprehensive assessment
Advice and information
Individual counselling
Groupwork programmes
Access to work/training programmes
Alcohol detoxification
Substitute prescribing support
Harm Reduction Service
Relapse prevention
The Addiction Recovery Centre in Kirkintilloch supports people with alcohol, drug and gambling addictions into recovery, and offers support to all family members (including children and teenagers) affected by the same addictions. The support offered is based on the Twelve Step principles, which are fundamental to the operation of the Addiction Recovery Centre, as is anonymity. Just call on 0141 776 3887.
