School children have been treated for heroin problems under a programme run by the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC ), the organisation revealed today.
Publishing figures showing its three-year Schoolmate Drug and Alcohol programme had treated more that 6,600 pupils aged 13 -18 years of age, the ISPCC said drug and alcohol awareness should be part of the education system.
It said the use of alcohol and drugs is "a fact of life for children" after revealing that it had treated pupils for problems with alcohol, cannabis, ecstasy and, in some cases, heroin.
"I think it's important that parents are aware that their children will come into contact with drugs and alcohol. The likelihood of that happening is huge," said director of services Grace Kelly.
The ISPCC's programme found that cannabis and alcohol were the frequent drugs among 13-18-year-olds. The service provided support to 6,669 pupils, with on-to-one sessions for 157 young people and individual mentoring to 21. Some 3,170 young people were treated through group therapy.
Males accounted for 64 per cent of the total number - a statistic regarded as "encouraging in view of the traditional difficulties in engaging young males in support services".
The service aims to build young people's psychological resilience and self-esteem and to ensure the necessary support frameworks are in place within their own communities to promote their well-being.
"We certainly find that the kids most vulnerable to drug misuse are the ones with low self esteem, who are socially involved and not involved in their community," said Ms Kelly.
"There's some kids who had dropped out of school and who were dabbling in drugs. They're now back in school and have decided they don't want to go down that road and are not using, which is fantastic," said Ms Kelly.
The programme, funded by the AIB Better Ireland fund, has been independently evaluated on an on-going basis by the Children's Research Centre, at Trinity College. As a result, the ISPCC is now in a position to launch the new 4me service as part of the "Citizen Child" Strategy.
This service will based on the experiences of the last three years will provide direct access to counselling and mentoring services to a wider range of vulnerable 13 -18-year-olds. A web-based counselling initiative will also be developed.
While continuing to focus on drug and alcohol misuse, the service will also target children becoming isolated from mainstream society because of their anti-social behaviour or mental health problems.
Additional reporting PA