We are sad to announce that our Chief Executive Officer, Anna Smith will be stepping down from her role with us on the 24th December.
Anna started with us in July 2023 following the untimely passing of our previous CEO Maggie Telfer. Whilst not an easy situation to come into, Anna has steered BDP to calmer waters with poise and a level head.
In her time here Anna has been doing vital work behind the scenes to improve many of our systems including reviewing and updating many of our policies and procedures, bringing our IT infrastructure up to speed and creating a system of working groups aimed at ensuring our services are accessible for every member of our community both as service users and as staff.
Crucially however, Anna has led BDP through the process of the recommissioning of drug and alcohol services in Bristol. We have formed a new and exciting partnership with both national and local providers and have been commissioned to begin delivering services from 1st of April 2025. Anna’s commitment to partnership working and knowledge of Bristol’s voluntary sector have helped pave the way for a treatment system will better meet the needs of the people who use alcohol and other drugs in Bristol.
Anna says:
“I am sad to be leaving BDP but very proud of the place I leave it in. The team have encountered and welcomed an enormous amount of change over the last 18 months and risen to the occasion every time. Against the backdrop of significant change, the tenacity of our staff in all areas of work, including building trust and engagement, has continued to impress me. Possibly what I love most is that staff are modest, committed, put the client first and support each other. This approach will be taken into our new partnership with Turning Point and seven other specialist local partners to continue and improve our service in the new chapter of our work, starting 1st April. 2025 will be a great year for BDP.”
Lydia Plant will be stepping up as Interim CEO from her previous role as Director of Operations. Lydia says:
“On behalf of BDP, I want to say a huge thank you to Anna for navigating us through this period of enormous change. We have appreciated Anna’s leadership, care for staff and of course, delicious baking! Anna’s commitment to making our services better has driven us to do more, especially around equity, diversity and inclusion and this is an area we are committed to continuing to work hard at.
BDP has long been a beacon of hope and change in Bristol, advocating for the dignity, safety, and well-being of people who use alcohol and other drugs. As Interim CEO, I am committed to ensuring these values continue to guide us. 2025 will be an exciting year for BDP as we form new partnerships and work towards the launch of a new treatment system on 1st April, as well as continuing to find new ways of making sure that we are there for those who need us.”
We wish Anna the best of luck in her new role as CEO of Quartet and want to say a big thank you from everyone at BDP for putting us in the best possible position to continue to do what is closet to our hearts moving into the next phase of our history; reducing the harms faced by people who use drugs and alcohol and working with them to make any changes they want to make in their lives.
We are launching a new well-being drop-in session in the heart of Brislington!
At these sessions, we’ll be offering a place where anyone can drop by and access support if they are struggling with their relationship with drugs and/or alcohol. We’ll also be offering other services including access to clean injecting equipment and the overdose reversal drug naloxone.
Here’s Liam, our worker who will be running the sessions:
Hello, my name is Liam and I work for the Bristol Drugs project. I’ll be running the Community Connections session in Brislington.
Growing up in South Bristol myself, I understand the strong sense of community and want to make sure residents can access the support they need.
At our drop-in, you are able to stop by for a hot drink and a snack, and there will always be myself and another BDP worker available if you feel you’d like to chat about your drug and/or alcohol use. We also offer a needle exchange, periodic housing support, and can refer you to further support if that’s what you would like.
It’s really important to me that it’s a friendly, welcoming and confidential space, for you to access whatever support you feel you need, even if it’s just a cup of tea. There’s no obligation to attend, you can pop in as and when or you can visit us every week to check in.
We’re at St Peters Methodist Church on Allison Road, right next to where the number 1 bus stops. We are also able to refund your bus ticket if that’s how you travel.
I look forward to meeting you soon!
Where?
St Peter’s Methodist Church, Brislington, BS4 4NZ (Easily accessible on the Number 1 bus)
When?
2:30pm – 4pm, Every Monday
Got a question?
Use our contact us page where we have all of the ways you can get in touch with us:
Today marks both World Homelessness Day and World Mental Health Day.
We wanted to use this occasion to discuss how different challenges in people’s lives can compound and make overcoming them even more difficult. Experiencing poor mental health and homelessness are just two of the many challenges that some people who use our services face.
The Compounding Effect of Multiple Challenges
Consider someone struggling with drug and/or alcohol use. This likely affects their mental health, which in turn can make addressing their substance use harder. If they are also experiencing homelessness, all three challenges make improving their situation increasingly difficult. In the caring professions, we call this “multiple disadvantage,” and it poses a serious risk to the health and well-being of the people we work with.
Other forms of disadvantage include:
Being from a marginalized group
Experiencing poverty
Physical health conditions
Contact with the criminal justice system
Trauma
Amongst many more
It’s important to note that not everyone who uses drugs and/or alcohol experiences disadvantage. However, those who do face disadvantage will be more greatly affected by any negative consequences.
BDP’s Approach
At BDP, we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to reach their potential. We work to support people who experience multiple disadvantage through:
Building Strong Connections
Bristol has a diverse range of services working to support people who experience some form of disadvantage. We are proud to have strong working relationships with most of these organizations, and our staff are well-accustomed to referring people to other services when they need support beyond our expertise. At BDP we work in partnership with organisations that support people around:
Physical health
Blood borne viruses
Sexual health
Sex work
Sexual violence
Housing
Criminal Justice System
Parents
Social services
Refugees
Amongst many more
Running Trauma-Informed Services
Our trauma-informed approach centres on viewing the whole person and all the complex factors that make up their experience. We understand that trauma can manifest in many different ways, and we actively provide services that account for a person’s needs by:
Making people feel safe
Building trust with the individual
Empowering people to make choices about the services they want
Being mindful of cultural awareness
Promoting Diversity
People from populations who face discrimination are far more likely to experience multiple disadvantage. As an organization, we pledge to provide accessible services to every member of our city by:
Being culturally sensitive
Reaching out to different communities
Ensuring our staff are equipped with the skills and expertise to best meet people’s needs, regardless of their background
Get Support
If you need support around your drug and/or alcohol, please get in touch.
We will work with you to identify your individual needs and provide the most appropriate support.
BDP’s allotment group have been granted £20,000 from the National Lottery!
The allotment has been running for over a year and has become an impressive showcase of BDP’s growing social and community groups.
Once a week, a green-fingered group meet at St Werburghs City Farm to tend to a range of blossoming plants and growing veggies. From cabbage to tomatoes, garlic to cucumber, the allotment is ripe with all sorts of gardening possibilities, all of which are about to ripen further with a £20k grant from the National Lottery.
Maddy Yarwood, volunteer and allotment facilitator outlined the importance of the allotment group;
“Being out in nature, being around plants and soil really helps people’s mental health. Some people struggle with indoor groups, so having an outdoor space that’s safe and welcoming, and that people have ownership over, is really important. And people love learning about plants!”
So how will the grant help?
In addition to working wages, the grant will help to expand all elements of the allotment to give its members, and its crops, more capabilities. The plan is to purchase a polytunnel, which allows a more managed environment to propagate, providing more food all year round, and a more varied learning experience in the process. Along with the tunnel, the grant will go towards a multitude of different gardening equipment, including a new tool shed, seeds, compost, benches and flower bed boarders to give more purpose and pride in the space.
Having autonomy over the allotment is a vital part of the service. Tez, another allotment volunteer expressed how planting seeds and watching them grow is “grounding, healing and rewarding”. The learning scheme builds upon the reward element by awarding members with gold stars as they pass through modules; from sowing seeds to soil care. Once the modules are complete, they receive a certificate for their effort!
This is just one way the allotment provides a fun and valuable experience for the group. One member stated, “It’s holistic and healing to be in the garden and in touch with nature, getting away from the city life is rewarding”. Another said, “You get to meet new people, it’s a sociable space and everyone’s really lovely, you get exercise and it helps with your mental health. I recommend it to anyone, it’s brilliant, 10/10!”.
It’s clear that the allotment is a great way to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, be with nature and explore activities you may not be able to explore elsewhere. The grant will provide an amazing chance to grow this community by growing opportunities and of course, growing plants!
Interested in getting involved?
If you are currently using BDP’s services or are struggling with your drug and/or alcohol use and would like to come along to one of our allotment sessions, please get in touch by calling 0117 987 6000 or email info@bdp.org.uk.
Happy National Volunteers’ Week from all of us at BDP!
This week provides us with the opportunity to celebrate the outstanding contributions that volunteers make to services and communities around the UK.
Here at BDP, we’re proud to have recruited hundreds of amazing volunteers over the last 31 years. Their contribution to our service is instrumental; we couldn’t do what we do without them.
We want to take this opportunity, in honour of Volunteers’ Week, to reflect upon and celebrate the diversity, curiosity and dedication our volunteers bring to BDP. Their unwavering commitment to our organisation and what it offers truly reflects BDP’s advocacy for inclusion, commitment and acceptance of our service users, staff, and of course volunteers.
Our volunteers make such a valuable contribution to BDP, and in turn, get the chance to make further valuable contributions to Bristol at large, and some of the city’s most marginalised communities.
“Having a volunteer help me with the Wet Clinic has been such a lifeline! One example that springs to mind is when they helped a service user with their PIP, our volunteer was so engaging and supportive, they dealt with the situation with such understanding and empathy, it was very evident the positive impact they made on that service user’s experience! Having them there also provides me with more capacity to help others, which is always really helpful!” – Jodi Dowse-Packham, Early Intervention and Engagement Worker.
Our volunteers bring so much to our organisation and we are passionate about them getting as much out of the experience as possible. Our volunteer training program is incredibly comprehensive and we often have volunteers go on to paid jobs within BDP and other drug and alcohol services in the city and beyond. In our recent volunteer satisfaction survey our training was given 4 to 5 out of 5 by 100% of the people asked with 86% percent giving top marks!
BDP’s gratitude towards our volunteers extends across the entire organisation, everyone at BDP benefits from the hard work they commit to our service and its users.
“I want to thank all of our volunteers for all they bring to BDP. They are truly valued and bring so much more than just an extra pair of hands as each of them has a unique perspective and background that works towards further enriching our services. Thank you for the time you give, all of your skills and commitment and I hope you find it as rewarding as we do. One of my favourite things is when volunteers get jobs with us!” – Anna Smith, CEO.
If you’d like to find out more about how to join our team and become a BDP volunteer, follow this link to apply!
Lydia Plant, Director of Operations at BDP, and Thangam Debbonaire, Labour MP for Bristol West, hold up the tree while BCC staff complete the planting.
Last week, we planted a tree in Brunswick Square just outside our offices in memory of Maggie Telfer OBE. Maggie was one of the founding members of our organisation and was the CEO for 36 years until her untimely passing at the start of 2023.
The event was organised by Maggie’s family and was attended by BDP staff, trustees, friends and colleagues from other organisations around Bristol. Despite the rather unpleasant weather in the morning, there was a fortuitous break in the rain at the time of the planting. The tree is a Crimson Cloud Hawthorne that will blossom in a rather fitting pink flower when mature enough. Maggie loved trees, so this is a lovely tribute to her.
On the day, tributes were given to Maggie from Caitlin Telfer, her daughter, Lydia Plant, Director of Operations at BDP, John Long, Chair of Trustees at BDP and Thangam Debbonaire, Labour MP for Bristol West.
Thangam Debbonaire delivering her tribute to Maggie to the attendees
A big thanks goes out to Bristol City Council’s tree department, who were instrumental in getting this project to go ahead, particularly to John Atkinson, without whom this would not have been possible.
