A five-a-side ministerial football match began the Home Office’s 2007 National Tackling Drugs Day..
Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker joined the Secretary of State for Education, Alan Johnson, and Andy Burnham, Minister of State at the Department of Health, in a five-a-side match in South London against members of anti-drug groups Positive Futures and Dads Against Drugs.
On the ball
The game also sought to publicise the 2007 Tackling Drugs Changing Lives Awards, to bring attention to the otherwise unsung local heroes who work to stop drugs ruining people’s lives. You can nominate an individual or group that has made a real difference by reducing the harm caused by the use of illegal drugs. Winners will receive £10,000 to support their work.
Last year’s winner was David Gordon of the Swaythling Clinic in Southampton. He won for his work running a mobile needle exchange and health-awareness programme.
The 2006 team award went to Cyswllt Ceredigion Contact of Aberystwyth, which provides counselling, support and treatment for those with drug and alcohol dependencies, as well as housing, training, and child care.
Vernon Coaker said that tackling drugs, and saving young lives, had long been one of the government’s key priorities. "I recognise there is no easy way to tackle drug misuse,’ he said. "But today is all about the celebration of local success – recognising the hard work undertaken across the country in areas of enforcement, education and treatment."
