Community substance misuse team aiding people of Tipperary
CSMT was established in 2012
CSMT was established in 2012, managed by Clondalkin Addiction Support Programme, and funded through the MWRDAF, CSMT provides individual support to young people from 13 to 23 years-old and their families impacted by substance misuse, within a range of local community settings, with an outreach base in many communities and organisations across the Mid-West with an office in Arthur’s Quay, Limerick City.
Over the past 13 years, communities in North Tipperary have been supported by CSMT project workers, who have seen the struggles of families, as they try to deal with the threat to their children and their families health and wellbeing from the impact of drugs and alcohol.
The threat does not just affect families in the large towns, but all members of our society are susceptible to harm from problematic substance use.
Young people availing of the CSMT service are encouraged to explore and develop life and coping skills as alternatives to substance misuse.
There is a strong focus on encouraging young people to re-engage or begin to engage in pro-social behaviour such as sport, exercise and other positive activities to encourage social connections, positive mental health and a reduction or complete cessation of substance misuse.
Parents who talk to their children about drugs and know what they are doing and who they are with, can reduce the chances of their children using drugs.
Most teens do not escalate from trying drugs to developing an addiction but experimenting with substances can become a problem as part of a pattern of risky behaviour such as, driving while under the influence of other hazardous, unsupervised activities.
When a young person develops a pattern of repeated substance misuse, it can result in social and health risks such as reduced school attendance and achievements, problems with family and other relationships, loss of interest in normal healthy activities, impaired memory, increased risk of contracting an infectious disease, like HIV or hepatitis C, via risky sexual behaviour or sharing contaminated injection equipment, mental health problems, including substance use disorders of varying severity and the very real risk of overdose death’.
The work of CSMT empowers families to create and maintain a home environment that supports adolescents through their journey. CSMT meets young people and parents in any available and convenient location that is safe and confidential across North Tipperary and the Mid-West.
For more information about CSMT and to make a referral, you can call 061 318 904, or go to the website: www.casp.ie/csmt-services.