SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM
INVITATION TO APPLY
Background
The Australian Rechabite Foundation (ARF) is a prescribed purpose fund established in 2009 as part of the demutualisation process of the IOR Friendly Society. The friendly society has its origins in the Independent Order of Rechabites, a temperance society. The ARF’s small grants program supports community-based initiatives that foster change within communities and individuals to reduce adverse effects from alcohol.Eligibility
Organisations with objects consistent with the prevention of alcohol-related harms are invited to apply for grants through the ARF’s small grants program.Organisations must be:
• Existing Australian-based entities with Deductible Gift Recipient status (applications from individuals will not be considered)
• Able to demonstrate an understanding of the challenge of supporting changes in communities and individuals in relation to alcohol
• Able to confirm that they have no funding or support of any kind from manufacturers, importers, distributors, sellers or other parties in any way associated with the sale, distribution or promotion of alcohol
• Able to complete planned projects within the specified time period
• Able to comply with all conditions outlined in the Funding Agreement, including the ability to plan, budget and report on results and implications of the funded project at its conclusionOrganisations may be:
• Providers of community support services (including clubs and associations)
• Involved in research
• Involved in teaching, training or provision of educational services
• Sporting bodies or associated groups
• Other groups with objects aligned to the ARF’s mission to build knowledge of the harmful effects of alcohol, inform lifestyle choices and encourage/support change within communities and individuals.Projects must:
• Be grounded in evidence of potential effectiveness, in the case of action projects.
• Address issues which hold promise for reducing alcohol problems, in the case of research projects.
• Undertake to collect and provide evidence of the project’s effects in relation to its aims.Terms of Grants
The ARF has $25,000 to allocate in its small grants program for 2012. Grant selection will be merit based and the number of grants made will depend upon the evaluation process. The ARF will consider applications for the entire $25,000, however any such proposal must be of sufficient calibre to warrant exclusion of all other applications Applicants are therefore encouraged to provide alternate plans and funding amounts where possible Grants are one-off opportunities; your proposal may be self-contained, or may be presented as the first Phase in a planned ongoing program, or as a Pilot phase of a larger project planned for subsequent years. The ARF anticipates running its small grants program yearly and recipients of funds in 2012 are welcome to apply for further grants in subsequent years.How to apply
If you meet the eligibility criteria and are interested in applying for a small grant please email arfoundation@australianrechabites.org.au to request a copy of the application form.Important Dates
Applications close on 23 March 2012. Funds will be distributed on the signing of Funding Agreements in May 2012.Sample Funding Agreements are available upon request to: arfoundation@austraIianrechabites.orq.au
The Australian Rechabite Foundation: small grants program
Whitney Houston and Alcohol’s Toll
“CRACK is wack.”
Remember that phrase? I heard many people repeat it last week as they appraised the waste of Whitney Houston’s later years and flashed back to her 2002 interview with Diane Sawyer, when she uttered those immortal words. She was bristling not at rumors that she abused drugs but at insinuations that she turned to cheap ones. With album sales like hers, you didn’t have to suck on a pipe.Sawyer wanted to know what Houston was on. Everyone wanted to know what Houston was on, and news reports after her death took unconfirmed inventory of the pills in her hotel suite, wondering if they represented the extent of her indulgences.No. By many accounts, Houston also drank. More than a little. In fact one early, leading theory about the cause of her death, which won’t be known until toxicology tests are finished, was that a mix of prescription drugs and alcohol did her in.
Via www.nytimes.com
Alcohol shrinks the brain – more research
Consuming substantial amounts of alcohol shrinks critical brain regions in genetically vulnerable rodents, Brookhaven scientists have found in efforts to further map the biology of addiction in peop…
Via www.newsday.com
7.5 million U.S. kids live with an ‘alcoholic’
About 7.5 million U.S. children age 18 and under lived with a parent who has experienced an alcohol use disorder in the past year, health officials said.The report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said 6.1 million of those children live with two parents, with either one or both parents experiencing an alcohol use disorder in the past year. The remaining 1.4 million of the children live in a single-parent house with a parent who has experienced an alcohol use disorder in the past year, and of this group, 1.1 million lived in a single-mother household 300,000 lived in a single-father household.
Via www.upi.com
OTC Drug Abuse strategy
ADCA press release in full:
New Prescription Drugs Monitoring Model Opens Door to Target Alcohol Harm: The Federal Government initiative to crackdown on prescription painkiller abuse is to be applauded as the misuse of pharmaceutical drugs can result in dangerous and even fatal consequences, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia (ADCA), Mr David Templeman, said today.
“ADCA recognises that prescription and over-the-counter medicines have made a significant and positive contribution to the health and wellbeing of Australians, but warns that nearly all medicines have the potential to cause harm,” Mr Templeman said.
“This new national electronic records system, effective from 1 July 2012, certainly provides doctors and pharmacists with a real-time tool that will deliver health and cost benefits to communities across Australia. Alcohol is our main drug of concern with severe health and economic consequences, much more than illicit and prescription drugs combined.”
Mr Templeman said that similar action should be taken in the alcohol environment as some people buy and use alcohol in the same way as those consumers who seek and use prescription addictive drugs.
“In fact, the introduction of the monitoring system could result in some people resorting to alcohol to self-medicate for pain relief,” Mr Templeman said.
“And the results from the excessive consumption of alcohol are similar with increases in violence, motor vehicle accidents and injury, and police recording an estimated 40 per cent of all people detained as being affected by alcohol,” Mr Templeman said.
“On average, some 1500 hospitalisations occur each week because of alcohol, and the cost to the Australian community from alcohol-related harm is estimated to be more than $36 billion a year.”
Mr Templeman said the recent fact the New South Wales Casino, Liquor, Gaming and Control Authority had approved major supermarket applications to expand their outlets, as well as not heeding objections from New South Wales Health that super-cheap alcohol would grow sales, was totally irresponsible.
“Organisations responsible for the licence approval process, as well as the alcohol industry, and all supermarket/ retail sales organisations need to consider ways to enhance the health and wellbeing of their customers,” Mr Templeman said.
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“ADCA is calling for a joined-up approach to be taken with Governments at all levels to immediately address Australia’s growing drinking culture,” Mr Templeman said.“The answer could be to modify the prescription electronic records system and link it to sales check-out screens to monitor purchasing patterns, particularly in relation to low-priced alcohol beverages, and to ensure customers are not under the legal age limit?”
2012 Aust / NZ Critical Criminology conference
The following conference includes scope for critical reflections of the relationship between alcohol and other drugs, crime, and the politics and efficacy of criminal justice responses. The call for abstracts is now open, see below.
THE AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND CRITICAL CRIMINOLOGY CONFERENCE 2012
‘Changing the Way We Think about Change: Shifting Boundaries, Changing Lives’
Thursday 12 – Friday 13 July 2012
University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
A two day conference for academics, practitioners, activists and students. The 2012 theme focuses on changing contexts, dynamic relations, innovative approaches and emerging challenges in criminology and beyond. The event page and preliminary conference details are available at the following link:
http://www.events.utas.edu.au/2012/july/the-australian-and-new-zealand-critical-criminology-conference-2012
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS NOW OPEN
Abstracts are invited for papers exploring the following themes:
* Contradictions, paradoxes and controversies
* Global inequalities: people, places, politics
* Green criminology in a climate of change
* Institutions and culture: police, courts, probation, prisons
* Ending offending: desistance and the process of change
* Gaps, silences and forgotten minorities
* What matters? What’s important – and according to whom?
* Advocacy, activism and resisting apathy
* Over the horizon issues and emerging challenges
* Thinking differently, innovation and research frontiers
For details on abstract submission, please download the ‘Call for Abstracts’ flyer by going to the events page (see link above).
Conference programme and registration details to come.
For more information, please contact the CONFERENCE CONVENOR
Rob White, Professor of Criminology, School of Sociology & Social Work, University of Tasmania, Hobart
Email: R.D.White@utas.edu.au
Fully Funded Qualifications in Alcohol & Other Drugs and Mental Health
Exciting news from Odyssey House for those interested:
Qualifications in Alcohol & Other Drugs and Mental Health
Odyssey House Victoria is pleased to offer funded qualifications in Alcohol & Other Drugs and Mental Health see below for details.
Courses include:
· Diploma in Community Services (Alcohol and Other Drugs) CHC50208 ( www.workskillsweb.net/dip_info.html )
· Diploma in Community Services (Alcohol, other Drugs and Mental Health) CHC50408 ( http://www.workskillsweb.net/dip_aodmh_info.html )
· Certificate IV in Community Services (Alcohol and Other Drugs) CHC40408 ( http://www.workskillsweb.net/certiv_info.html )Recognition of Prior Learning
Would you like to gain your Diploma in Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD), and feel your current skills should be recognised? Then you could qualify for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). RPL is a process where you gain your qualification based on your work experience, prior training and job description. We can visit you to conduct the necessary assessment and this usually takes just one or two visits.Examples of assessment:
· Work related documentation
· Third party reports (e.g. from supervisors or managers)
· Evidence of completed tasks at work
· Prior vocational experiences and training
Benefits of RPL:
· Reduces the time involved in gaining your qualification
· Removes ‘exam stress’
· Helps lower your related study costs
Full fee options are also available, however Odyssey House Victoria is able to offer eligible Victorian candidates funded qualifications courses listed above for only $550*. Funded training is delivered with Victorian and Commonwealth Government funding and eligibility depends on your personal circumstances for details visit www.odysseyinstitute.edu.au.Enquiries and registration www.odysseyinstitute.edu.au or contact Sariah on 03 9420 7644, email studentadmin@odyssey.org.au
Michael Ried
Education & Workforce Development Manager
Odyssey Institute
660 Bridge Rd. Richmond Victoria 3121
www.odysseyinstitute.edu.au
New Workplace AOD resources
Via NCETA:
As you may be aware, the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA) at Flinders University has a strong interest in the area of workplace health and safety. Our interest particularly focuses on issues that involve alcohol and or other drugs. NCETA has undertaken an extensive program of research in this area and developed many practical resources for use by researchers, policy makers and coal face practitioners.
We are pleased to provide you with details of a range of new NCETA workplace products that you may be interested in; they are:
1. Workplace Drug Testing: Evidence and Issues. Pidd, K., & Roche, AM. (2011) – a comprehensive review.
2. Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing. Pidd, K., Roche, AM., & White, M. (2011) – 4 page flier.
3. Young workers and workplace safety: Guidelines for managing alcohol and other drug risk. Pidd, K., Roche, AM., & Wilson, P. (2011) – a 20 page document.
These resources stem from projects undertaken by NCETA with funding provided by the South Australian Government through SafeWork SA.
If you would like hard copies of these resources or further information regarding our work in this area please contact the NCETA reception desk on 08 8201 7535 or email nceta@flinders.edu.au.
Electronic copies of these resources can be downloaded from the NCETA website www.nceta.flinders.edu.au.
Jobs: Specialist Pharmacotherapy Clinician, Melbourne
Specialist Pharmacotherapy Clinician (ref:10314)
Full Time Temporary until 31 August, 2012
Western Health’s Drug Health Services (DASWest) is the largest provider of drug and alcohol treatment programs in Melbourne’s West. Drug Health Services has recently undergone an intensive period of review and redesign.
An opportunity is currently available for a Registered Nurse Grade 3 to work in the multidisciplinary Specialist Pharmacotherapy Program, and play a key role in these exciting changes.
Enthusiastic Registered Nurses with Drug and Alcohol experience; including potential Nurse Practitioner Candidates are encouraged to apply.
Initially, the position is offered on a six month fixed term contract; with the possibility of extension.
Please see the position description for key selection criteria.
The successful applicant may be required to undergo a Police Records Check and / or hold a Victorian Working With Children Card.
To apply follow the link below:
http://westernhealth.mercury.com.au/ViewPosition.aspx?id=10314
Tobacco Smuggling Prospers in Spain
Spanish smokers, squeezed by higher taxes and a deepening recession, are increasingly relying on smugglers to feed their habit.
Illegal imports now account for 7 percent to 8 percent of Spanish cigarette sales, compared with almost nothing a year ago, according to the country’s tobacconists association. In southern provinces such as Cadiz, Seville and Malaga, the proportion is 20 percent.
“Smuggling and fake tobacco, which had been eradicated since 1993, came back strongly last year,” said Jaime Gil- Robles, corporate affairs director at Altadis, the Spanish unit of Imperial Tobacco Group Plc.
Smuggling, encouraged by a December 2010 increase in tobacco taxes and a ban on smoking in public places, has eroded both government coffers and company revenues. Spain, which has the European Union’s highest jobless rate, collected 14 percent less tobacco taxes in 2011 than a forecast of 9.05 billion euros ($12 billion), excluding value-added tax, according to Altadis.
Via www.bloomberg.com
