One of the highlights for the Centre this year was the Drug Awareness event. RDRD hosted the Drug Awareness Week in June of this year offering a wide range of fun and creative events.

The aim was to engage as many young people as possible and members of the wider community to participate in the events and in turn highlight the drugs issue in the area. The project was successful in its aim in that quite a large number of groups and local schools got involved.

The week commenced with a wide range of workshops such as anti-bullying, quit smoking programme, holistic programmes, cocaine and alcohol awareness, you, your family and drugs, school art competitions, you and addiction with options of supports available and the soccer tournament event.

The RDRD soccer event took place over a weekend in the Ringsend & Irishtown sports stadium. This event was supported By Dan Russell DCC, Thomas Grimes and Jason Donaghue FAI.

All there will agree that this was a nail-biting and exciting experience, with up to 90 young people participating. All teams put on a fabulous, energetic display. In the end, the team that won was a group called Soilse, runners up were Stone Masons. Congratulations to all the teams who participated in the event.

Fridge magnets for the local community with a ‘Say No To Drugs’ logo along with the drug products phone number and local Garda numbers were distributed. All children were provided with sport caps with RDRD and ‘Say No To Drugs’ embroidered on the front. 300 caps were provided that week. Tee shirts for the football teams bearing the project’s logo were also provided to all the players.

The Art Competition was fantastic and the local schools in the area participated fully with the event. Children were asked to design posters for drug awareness and the effects of alcohol and cocaine.

The judges were the RDRD board of management and Father Dan who had an extremely difficult job. The successful winners were presented with portable DVD players and the runners up got either digital cameras or family tickets to the cinema.

The highlight of the week was RDRD’s annual closing event, which the project held in the local Clanna Gael Hall. Nineteen groups participated in this event by displaying stalls and provided information on their service.
Minister John Curran was extremely impressed when he met with all the different groups on the night. Each group was provided with an opportunity to meet with the Minister and discuss issues regarding their projects.

Teresa Weafer Grennell, manager of the project, opened the event by introducing all the groups and services displayed around the hall. She said that the Drug Project in the area was very fortunate to have such strong links and supports from the services and also congratulated all the groups for their role and hard work in the local community.

Teresa also highlighted the strong commitment from the board of management and the staff of RDRD. She said that without their hard work none of this would be possible.

Dublin Port Company, Dublin City Council, HSE, FÁS and the TF were commended by Tom Crilly, Chairman of RDRD, for their role in supporting the events and the project overall. Tom said he was delighted at the large numbers receiving certificates for completing programmes through the project throughout the year.

90 certificates were awarded on the night to participants on the programme and members from the local community. Minister John Curran presented awards to the participants who became drug-free through the programme and commended the work of RDRD.

Brenda Daly, Michael Sheery and Charlie Murphy from Dublin Port Company also presented awards to young people and family members in the community for their role in supports in the area. The Dublin Port Company was congratulated by all in attendance for their commitment to the project.

Special thanks was given by the chairperson and manager to senior citizens who attend the Spellman centre every week for programmes such as pottery, drama, arts etc. Their presence in the centre has had a very positive effect on the clients in RDRD.

Entertainment on the night was incredible. The band All Nighters played and kept the large crowd going on the dance floor. RDRD also introduced an amazing belly dancer who got the audience screaming for more. The belly dancer provides classes in the Spellman Centre which are also open to the community.
The event was very well attended and the project was overwhelmed with the amount of support displayed by the people on the night. RDRD would like to thank the community for their support throughout the service.

RDRD Service DVD
The Ringsend & District Response to Drugs DVD highlights the work of the centre and some of the services provided to the community. It can be used for information or educational purposes. To obtain a copy or for any additional information, please contact the manager Teresa Weafer Grenell (01-6677666).

Page 36, clockwise from top left: The Soilse (Tilestyle) winning team; Teresa Weafer Grenell presents medals to team members