Drug and Alcohol Awareness Training

Oct 10, 2023  •  General

Over 50 young farmers attended the Drugs and Alcohol Awareness Session held in Carlisle on Tuesday 10th October. Young farmers from Brampton, Carlisle, Kirklinton, Penrith, Raughton Head, Walton and Wigton YFCs as well as County Vice Chair, Charlotte Wilson, Northern District President and Vice President, Gillian Potts and Julie Bowker and Northern District Chair and Vice Chair, Abigail Graham and Ella Batey were in attendance.

Staff and volunteers from The Well Communities (a charity providing help and support for those in recovery from addiction) gave the young farmers great insight into the issue of substance misuse with a session that included information on the effects of drug and alcohol abuse, why people abuse drugs and alcohol, what misuse of substances can do both physically and mentally, how to deal with peer pressure, refusal techniques, resilience and mental health and wellbeing. 

Cumbria YFC has worked in collaboration with The Well Communities since 2019, developing a Drugs and Alcohol Awareness session specifically geared to the young farmers and those living and working in rural Cumbria.  The sessions are also open to Club Leaders, parents and Advisory Members to attend. 

The Awareness Sessions include Lived Experience” input from those in recovery and hearing the stories of Eva and Ryan who bravely gave their own accounts of the effect addiction has had on their lives really brought home to the young farmers the importance of making positive life choices where drugs and alcohol are concerned. 

Ged Pickersgill, Business Development Lead for The Well Communities commented "The Well Communities are grateful to work with the young farmers as preventative work such as this often makes a genuine difference in decision making processes where drugs and alcohol are involved. The training combines academia with Lived Experience to deliver an impactive learning experience to the young farmers”. 

This session heralds the start of year 3 of the Cumbria YFC Drugs and Alcohol Awareness Programme, which almost 500 young farmers have attended over two years. A £10,000 grant was awarded to Cumbria YFC by The Cumbria Community Foundation to enable the programme to run for 3 years and The Well Communities also received Big Lottery funding to support their work with the young farmers. 

Joanne Mills, Cumbria YFC Chief Officer said “The potential impact of these awareness sessions in terms of helping our young farmers to access information and make informed and positive life choices should not be underestimated and we are grateful to Ged, Richard, Eva and Ryan for their commitment in sharing their stories”.