The Herald

Funding to tackle drug deaths

RESIDENTIA­L rehabilita­tion projects are among the initiative­s to tackle Scotland’s drug death crisis which will receive a share of £3.6 million from the Scottish Government.

Drugs and Alcohol Policy Minister Christina Mckelvie announced that 14 projects which help recovery have been awarded funding.

This includes £1m for four new residentia­l rehabilita­tion projects, which will allow the facilities to hire staff to provide more in-depth support to people as they transition from rehab, while a new women’s recovery house is also included.

Ms Mckelvie said the investment was supporting the Scottish Government’s targets to increase the number of statutory funded placements per year to 1,000 by 2026.

The most up-to-date figures published by Public Health Scotland showed 477 placements were funded between April 1 and September 30, 2023.

The funding will support outdoor recovery programmes and cafes, and will also help protect vulnerable adults who are at risk of “cuckooing” where a drug dealer or gang takes over their address to supply, store or produce substances.

Ms Mckelvie said: “This funding and these projects are helping to save and improve lives.

“It will support a range of initiative­s, from rescuing vulnerable people from having their homes and lives taken over by drug-dealing ‘cuckooing’ gangs, to supporting outdoor recovery programmes and expanding recovery cafes.

“It also includes a very significan­t investment in developing residentia­l rehabilita­tion services. Increasing access and improving these services is another key part of our national mission, and we’re well on our way to our target of increasing the number of statutory funded placements to 1,000 by 2026.”