The aim of the role is to ensure young people are being supported in managing to make lasting change.

I am hoping that this role will assist in developing young people’s skills, build their self-confidence and provide a gateway for young people to easily access support whilst making the transition to stabilised, substance free living.

My first few weeks have been spent getting to know the friendly... ]]>Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:30:33 GMTWed, 12 Jun 2013 08:07:01 GMTWed, 12 Jun 2013 08:07:26 GMT
For nearly 20 years, Early Break have been supporting vulnerable Children and their Families to overcome some of the many issues that surround substance misuse, such as Child Exploitation and Domestic Abuse, Poverty and Neglect across Bury, Rochdale and East Lancashire. As they have grown, so have their ambitions and projects within the range of our Service delivery. Through your support they hope to continue to develop and provide Services such as their Award Winning ‘Holding Families Project’ and pioneer new models of working to broaden their fields of expertise. ]]>Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:12:46 GMT
Free training opportunity!

Family Centred Time – a successful family intervention model

Early Break, a nationally renowned substance misuse service for young people and families,  is delighted to issue this invitation to qualified (at least two years) person-centred counsellors who would be willing to join a pilot training group to develop, deliver and disseminate this impressive family intervention model, unique to Early Break. The model has been successfully delivered to families for 7 years, with research undertaken on the model during that time... ]]>Tue, 04 Jun 2013 10:36:31 GMTWed, 15 May 2013 14:39:36 GMT
My name is Chris Henniker and I am pleased to introduce myself as the new Transitional Outreach Advocacy Worker for Bury. My role is part of a brand new provision within the existing Early Break service where I will be working specifically with the 16-25 age group in relation to their alcohol use. The role has been funded by Comic Relief and it’s aim is to provide a tailored package of support to young people and young adults, specifically looking at any issues they may have with or around their alcohol use.

With the help of my new colleagues I have spent my first few weeks getting to know the Bury area, introducing myself and my new role to other partnership services in the area and looking at how I can develop my role within Early Break. I have already started to make some good connections and develop some new pathways in supporting young people and young adults.

I have been on some interesting training courses in my first ... ]]>Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:00:03 GMTShisha pipes are a recent trend in the UK. More and more young people are taking up shisha smoking as it is becomes increasingly available in bars and cafes around UK, however, what do we really know about shisha pipes? How harmful are they and finally what other names do people use to describe shisha smoking?

What is a Shisha pipe?

There are two parts that make a shisha pipe; Firstly, shisha, which is a type of tobacco that is available in various flavours. Secondly, the pipe, this is a multi stemmed instrument where the shisha tobacco is heated and the smoke is passed through a water basin, similar to other smoking tools e.g. Bongs.

How is a Shisha pipe harmful?

Contrary to popular belief Shisha pipes are just as harmful as cigarettes. Here are some reasons why:

• Although shisha tobacco comes in different flavours, it contains all the same toxicants known to cause lung and h... ]]>Wed, 08 May 2013 12:53:59 GMTWed, 08 May 2013 10:21:29 GMTThe sun is shining, the music is banging and you’re at the festival to have the best weekend of your Summer! So you’re probably not thinking about how to get back to your tent, or what happens if you drink too much cider. Luckily we’ve put together some simple tips to keep you safe, leaving you free to enjoy all the fun of the festival...

   

  Safety in numbers

  Stay in groups of friends and be tolerant of where they want to go and what they want to do (even if that does mean missing Florence for Peter Andre).

   

  Make a meeting point

  In case you get lost or separated, make sure you organise a clear meeting point with your friends on first arriving at the festival where you will ... ]]>Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:20:34 GMTThis Sunday sees our team of Early Break Champions take to the streets to participate in the Greater Manchester Marathon to raise money for Early Break.  
  
  With less than a week to go we caught up with some of our runners to find out how their training is going....
  
  

  “WOW, I can’t believe that it is finally here! Weeks and weeks of training (and a few injuries) have now all but come to an end as we enter the last stage of our #TeamEB Manchester Marathon.  I am ready, that’s what I keep telling myself anyway!  Last year it was about finishing, this year is about finishing with a bit more style, and I do mean a bit!  

  Sat, 20 Apr 2013 14:18:45 GMTThu, 25 Apr 2013 09:48:22 GMT
  I hate running, so your ££££'s are the only motivation i have ]]>Wed, 01 May 2013 09:46:48 GMTEarly Break is delivering drug and alcohol awareness training for professionals working with young people and families who live in the Rochdale Borough.
  
  The training is aimed at raising awareness around substances that are used by young people, introduce the interventions that are delivered by Early Break to address substance misuse issues faced by young people, provide professionals with a brief screening tool and skills to assess the risks that young people are taking in relation to drugs/alcohol and give an overview of the referral pathways into Early Break.
  
  For further details please download the booking form and flyer below:
  
  
  
  Please visit our Tier One Training page to download the booking form!
  
  http://www.earlybreak... ]]>Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:06:43 GMTHere are the upcoming dates for the Tier One Training for professionals working young people and families in the Rochdale Borough.
  
  
  
  You can download the booking form HERE
  
  
  ]]>Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:22:10 GMT
  Brief for Holding Families promotional /educational DVD
  
  

  Early Break would like to create a promotional/ brief educational DVD for the Holding Families Service.

  Holding Families is a service that supports children, parents and families with problems associated with significant parental substance misuse. Children and adults needs are dealt with and responded to at the same time.

   

  The service delivers a range of interventions for each member of the family including group work, individual support and family meetings. The child is kept at the centre of our work and we ensure they have a voice. Their voice is the key factor in encouraging parents to change.

  
  Brief
  
  

  We are looking for a film maker or production company to make a short film with us alongside the Holding Families Development Officer and our IT and Media Support Worker and other members of the Holding Fami... ]]>Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:23:31 GMT
  This is a particular personal challenge for me as I have never ran anything like this in my life! I once walked the 5km Race for Life but that is the real extent of my 'running' history! So please sponsor generously and I'll do my best to get through it alive!! ]]>Sat, 27 Apr 2013 15:47:11 GMTSat, 20 Apr 2013 14:18:45 GMTI've chosen to run for this charity as its helping young people in Manchester so its a local charity to be proud of & provide support to :)
  We've only got 8 weeks to go until race day & I've been training harder this year - all the training will be worth while if my friends & family can help me raise the £400 target
  Thank you!!!! X ]]>Thu, 02 May 2013 08:38:58 GMTHow Holding Families Supports Children And Young People Affected By Parental Drug and Alcohol Use....
  
  This week is National Children of Alcoholics Week led by NACOA http://www.coaweek.org/about/ which Early Break fully support.

  
  http://news.sky.com/story/1050017/children-of-alcoholics-face-ongoing-struggle - "Children of Alcoholics Face Ongoing Struggle"
  
  

  Holding Families is a service that supports children, parents and families with problems associated with significant parental substance misuse. Children and adults needs are dealt with and responded to at the same time.

  We have been supporting families to recover from drug and alcohol misuse since 2006 in our unique, holistic whole family intervention. We... ]]>Wed, 13 Feb 2013 10:18:15 GMT
  ]]>Thu, 07 Feb 2013 15:57:05 GMT
  Although running any great distance is my idea of hell, in a moment of madness I agreed to take part in the marathon as part of a relay team along with some of my colleagues. So, instead of spending my spare time sitting happily at home watching tv and eating chocolate I will now be spending the next 3 months outside running, aching, sweating, gasping for breath and wondering what on earth possessed me to agree to this!
  
  I really do need all the help I can get so please support me by donating to this very w... ]]>Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:17:46 GMTMon, 29 Apr 2013 10:09:29 GMTStudents from The University College, Karel de Grote in Belgium visited Early Break. Sirka, Caro, Isabelle and Nikki met with Shakila to discuss how Early Break delivers interventions to young people and families to address substance related issues.

   

  The students are studying Socia-Educational Care Work in the Department of applied Social Studies in Antwerp, Belgium. They are hoping to take the learning back to Belgium and deliver a presentation to their peers and teachers.

   

  The students reported the following ‘We find what Early Break is doing absolutely wonderful, and with such heart and soul. They offer the community just what it needs and deliver it with passion. As students we find it inspiring as this is the field we want to work in, in the future’.

   

  The students felt that services such as Early Break were needed in Belgium to address the needs of vulnerable young people as currently most services ar... ]]>Tue, 29 Jan 2013 14:16:46 GMTI’m Becky and somehow I have set myself a real challenge here to raise money for the young people and families we work with in Early Break.

  I like to think of myself as a keen runner, although in reality I could probably only manage a couple of miles! My colleagues, friends and family although fully supportive will probably find this process highly entertaining but this makes me all the more determined to succeed! They know I’d much prefer a cake and a car journey to get from A-B. So, please dig your hands in your pockets and sponsor me because this is a genuine challenge for me and I won’t let my teammates down! 

  ]]>Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:02:30 GMTSat, 20 Apr 2013 14:18:46 GMTMon, 22 Apr 2013 11:23:41 GMTTen in Ten Challenge
  
  Raising funds for Early Break, a young person's Drug and Alcohol support service
  
  Manchester will be my 4th Marathon as part of my personal bid to complete 10 in 10 - finish 10 marathons in the 10 years between my 40th and 50th birthdays. ]]>Sat, 20 Apr 2013 14:18:46 GMT
  

  The education pack has been put together by the parents of a young man, Adam Rogers, who was killed during a night out with friends when a 16 year old boy punched him once, causing him to fall, banging his head in the process. As a result, his parents Dave and Pat, put the pack together to try and educate young people about the issues involved in this incident as well as looking at possible consequences.

   

  The event wa... ]]>Mon, 21 Jan 2013 10:32:52 GMT
  Please donate! Ill be training hard to make sure I dont pass out during the run, and if I dont pass out you can always have a laugh at my efforts so youre guaranteed to get your monies worth from that!
  
  But on a serious note, your money will go towards helping young people and their families in Bury, Rochdale and East Lancs, and will enable Early Break to continue the great work they do! ]]>Thu, 02 May 2013 07:49:43 GMT
  We thought now would be a great time to dig up Rhyse and Carl's marathon blog from last year for those who missed it last year, it's a great read!
  
  Head over to http://www.earlybreak.co.uk/Blog/2012-marathon-blog-recap to have a read! ]]>Fri, 11 Jan 2013 15:35:09 GMTRhyse: In the beginning it was so simple, well that's what I thought.  I wrote a proposal, put some plans together, got some initial interest and designed the running vests (that bit was fun). So what was the master plan? Well, I love the charity that I work for and I really wanted to do something that would help raise a bit of cash whilst also achieving a personal goal of running a marathon. I wasn't bothered about which one I did I just wanted to do one.  

  The boss said yes, if I wanted to, then that would be great! I felt chuffed and set about recruiting like- minded colleagues to join me in this challenge.   
  
  Carl: Rhyse had spoken to me about his plans to do a marathon and how it could be used as a great fundraising event for the Service, something we have both been really keen to help develop. Rhyse asked if I would be interested and my reply was along the lines of “Yeah, go on then”... ]]>Fri, 11 Jan 2013 14:57:06 GMTJonny's Epic Marathon - Part 2
  
  I am really pleased to support Early Break, as it is a local charity that I think does a fantastic job in our community supporting others who are in need. Please help me to raise money for this Service.

  ]]>Sat, 27 Apr 2013 16:46:31 GMTMarathon Challenge!
  
  I would like to support Early Break as it is a local charity in my home town and I am really keen to promote their cause helping children and young people to stay healthy.

  ]]>Sat, 20 Apr 2013 14:18:46 GMTSusanne Andrews, Administrator in Bury, tells us about her personal development within Early Break, her experiences of it and what this means to her.
  
  I recently attended the five day 'Otterburn' course which focuses on person-centred practice. As part of induction all Early Break workers attend this to familiarise themselves with the person-centred approach. This is based on the theory and practice of Dr Carl Rogers, a Humanistic Psychologist.

   

  Being person-centred is about our relationships with others, and about helping those around make the right choices for themselves without being directive (telling them what to do). At Early Break this way of being allows us to help young people and families find their own answers and develop internal problem-solving resources that can be used to help resolve future problems. As a workforce we aim to undertake this “way of being” in interactions with all. 

   

  At the beginnin... ]]>Thu, 10 Jan 2013 08:12:02 GMTSun, 28 Apr 2013 07:50:55 GMTEarly Break will be closed from 5:00pm this evening for the Christmas break.
  
  We will be open on the following days in between Christmas and New Year:
  Thursday 27th December - 9:00am-5:00pm
  Friday 28th December - 9:00am-5:00pm
  
  The service will re-open again fully after the New Year on Wednesday 2nd January with the usual office hours of 8:00am-6:00pm.
  
  If you require support over this time, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0161 723 3880 and we will get back to as soon as the office re-opens.
  
  Seasons greetings and best wishes for the New Year from all at Early Break :)
  ]]>Fri, 21 Dec 2012 15:53:09 GMTI am pleased to introduce myself as the new Advocacy Worker for Bury; I will be taking on the role of Link Worker for the Bury Youth Offending Team. With the help of my new colleagues I have spent my first few weeks getting to know the Bury area and the different roles and services within Early Break.

   

  I am looking forward to the next few weeks and finding more out about Early Break, I am especially looking forward to the Acupuncture Training I’m on this week!

   

  My background is in Social Work and I have experience of working across both Children’s and Adult Duty and Assessment Teams. My interest in working with young people stemmed from my time within Children’s Services where I developed an interest in the field of substance related interventions.

   

  I hope to develop my skills in working with young people and their families whilst here at Early Break and am looking forward to making a positive contri... ]]>Tue, 11 Dec 2012 11:51:11 GMTTue, 07 May 2013 15:28:21 GMT"Annihilation" is a potent synthetic cannabinoid compound that replicates the active ingredients in cannabis.
  
  

  Just as “Bubble, Meow Meow and M-Cat” was never a plant food, the legal high “Annihilation” was never, as it has been advertised, a herbal incense.
  
  

  This "herbal incense" is set to be banned after leaving a number of people hospitalised in the past three months.
  
  

  The synthetic designer drug is meant to imitate the effects of cannabis. However reports coming in from users of the drug are reporting it to be a lot more potent and scary;

  One said: “I packed a joint full. Spent the next hour tripping hard, trying to figure out if I was in a dream or not.”
  Another added: “My mate took the annihilator in a bong and was chucking up everywhere and talking to himself.”
  
  

  Professor Les Iversen, the chairman of the governmen... ]]>Mon, 26 Nov 2012 13:34:12 GMT"Annihilation" is a potent synthetic cannabinoid compound that replicates the active ingredients in cannabis.
  
  

  Just as “Bubble, Meow Meow and M-Cat” was never a plant food, the legal high “Annihilation” was never, as it has been advertised, a herbal incense.
  
  

  This "herbal incense" is set to be banned after leaving a number of people hospitalised in the past three months.
  
  

  The synthetic designer drug is meant to imitate the effects of cannabis. However reports coming in from users of the drug are reporting it to be a lot more potent and scary;

  One said: “I packed a joint full. Spent the next hour tripping hard, trying to figure out if I was in a dream or not.”
  Another added: “My mate took the annihilator in a bong and was chucking up everywhere and talking to himself.”
  
  

  Professor Les Iversen, the chairman of the government's adviso... ]]>Thu, 22 Nov 2012 17:44:42 GMT
  Head on over to www.lancashirecare.nhs.uk/alcohol for more information and to fill in their questionnaire - or if you're a savvy techno-geek scan the QR code to access it on your mobile device!
  
  Remember, if you wish to speak to anyone regarding your alcohol use do not hesitate to contact Early Break on 0161 723 3880, or email info@earlybreak.co.uk.
  
  
  ]]>Wed, 21 Nov 2012 10:57:35 GMTWed, 08 May 2013 09:30:28 GMTIts back and we need you!!!!
  
  Join our team of Champions and help us to continue to support Children, Young People and their families!
    for details email ebmanchestermarathon@earlybreak.co.uk and we will send you details of how to register for your place on the Web site.  
  Hurry we only have limited spaces so if you didnt get a place in the London Marathon and you still fancy the challenge then this is the perfect way to keep your dreams alive.  Or if you already have a place  in the Manchester Marathon and want to support us please send us an email and we will send detail about how you can join our team.  We look forward to hearing from you.  

  ]]>Tue, 27 Nov 2012 10:11:46 GMTJoin our team of Champion fundraisers in the Manchester Marathon 2013. All of the money that we are raising will be put towards ensuring that ‘Our door is the right door’ for the Children and their Families that we are working with.  
  
  For the past 19 years, we have been supporting vulnerable children and their families to overcome some of the many issues that surround Substance Misuse, such as Child Exploitation and Domestic Abuse, Poverty and Neglect in Bury, Rochdale and East Lancashire.  As we have grown, so have our ambitions and projects within the range of our Service delivery.  
  
  Through your support we hope to continue to develop and provide Services such as our Award Winning ‘Holding Families Project’ and pioneer new models of working to broaden our field of expertise. Sign up today to make a real difference and put some meaning into those miles!
  
  For more... ]]>Wed, 08 May 2013 11:28:44 GMTI’ve just finished my first two weeks working for Early Break as an Advocacy Worker in Rochdale. I’ve really enjoyed all the things that had been organised for me to learn about the work I’ll be doing and the different parts of Early Break.

   

  I’ve had the chance to meet the teams in Bury and Rochdale who have all made me feel very welcome and have started to find my way around the area. I’ve been to visit quite a few of the different agencies within Rochdale and also been on some training.

   

  Having said that, probably the one thing I’ll remember most from my first week at Early Break was seeing a snake in the street with Jo not far from 4U18, luckily already being dealt with by the Police!!

   

  My experience so far of working at Early Break has been really good and I’m looking forward to getting stuck in!

  Tue, 11 Dec 2012 11:49:31 GMTWe are absolutely delighted to announce that, after a really rigorous recruitment and selection process, the new Chief Executive of Early Break will be:-
  
  

  VICKY MALONEY
  
  

  Vicky will begin the transition process to CEO from 1^st January 2013, towards full take over on 1^st April 2013.
  
  

  "I am totally thrilled to be appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer at Early Break. The continuation of Early Break as a young person focussed organisation delivering and indeed setting high standards, is the challenge ahead.  I am fully focussed  on my commitment and drive for the service to go forward from the rock solid foundation created by Barbara Jack. I follow in some ground breaking footsteps in relation to developm... ]]>Tue, 13 Nov 2012 13:59:43 GMTEARLY BREAK SUCCESSFULLY RENEWS INVESTING IN CHILDREN MEMBERSHIP
  
  The Investing in Children Membership Scheme recognises and celebrates examples of imaginative and inclusive practice with children and young people.  Organisations applying for the award have to demonstrate dialogue with young people which leads to change.
  
  However, children and young people have to provide the evidence for the organisation and endorse the membership report because it is a children's award.
  
  There are currently over 300 members in County Durham and over 150 members across the UK.
  
  Investing in Children was established in 1995 by senior managers from Durham County Council and the NHS.  The project is part of Durham County Council and also negotiates public partnerships through its Development Agency with extern... ]]>Thu, 01 Nov 2012 16:02:33 GMTWe are very pleased to share some creative writing on our website from a young person. Creative writing can be a great outlet for anyone as a way to express themselves.
  
  

  “Since I was about 9 years old I have used writing as an escape for things that are happening in my life. When I was about 15 I got my first poem published. It made me believe I can really do something in my life.”
  
  

  THE JOY HAS GONE

  Today we’re taught that long ago
  The traditional Christmas was best
  Despite the poor and hungry
  Has time stood the test?
  
  

  With yule log fires aglow
  Banquets fit for a king
  Families played games together
  And around the piano did sing
  
  

  We crave a feeling of festive joy
  But can it be captured as told
  Was Christmas as they say it was
  Despite the snow and cold?
  
  

  Smothered today by technology
  No more family g... ]]>Tue, 30 Oct 2012 08:51:29 GMTEARLY BREAK IS AWARDED QUALITY KITEMARK

   

  Early Break is delighted to announce the achievement of a national kitemark that recognises excellence in charities.

   

  The young people’s drug and alcohol service has gained the Level 2 PQASSO Quality Mark – a national kitemark award that recognises excellence in charities, in their work and business  structure. PQASSO is the leading quality standard developed for the third sector.

   

  The PQASSO Quality Mark is a nationally recognised award that demonstrates excellence and quality in an organisation. It reinforces a charity’s credibility for all stakeholders, including service users and commissioners. The accreditation also earns Early Break the ‘Hallmarks of an Effective Charity’ endo... ]]>Tue, 23 Oct 2012 11:28:16 GMT #APFsem
  Vicky Stewart is at the "In It Together: Supporting
  Prisoners and Offenders Families Across Agencies"
  
  "Having a great day listening, learning and sharing about work with families where parents are in prison. The Holding Families Service presentation on our work in HMP Buckley Hall was well received."
  
  
  

  ]]>Thu, 18 Oct 2012 16:50:10 GMTWe are really proud that Barbara Jack, our Chief Executive, has been nominated for Bury Woman of the Year in the Business/Professional/Entrepreneur category. The award recognises local commitment and achievement in the Borough.
  
  
  

  Barbara attended a Civic Reception at Bury Town Hall last Thursday and will attend a Lunch  today at the Bolholt Hotel in Bury when the judges’ decision will be announced. The event is organised by Bury Hospice as part of their fundraising programme.
  
  

  We all wish Barbara the best of luck!
  
  http://www.buryhospice.co.uk/buryhospice/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=84&Itemid=79
  

  ]]>Thu, 11 Oct 2012 13:05:05 GMTHolding Families is part of the Early Break offer of support to young people and their families. We support families affected by parental substance misuse by providing a range of individual support, group work and family sessions to all members of the family including children and young people and parents. We have achieved some fabulous outcomes through working with families and we want our logo to say more about what we do.
  
  

  So, we have decided it is time to refresh our Holding Families logo, which we are working on, but also bring in a strapline to compliment it. The brief has been simple, it needs to represent what we do, how we benefit the families we work with and what we believe in. It should aim to encourage families to access
  Holding Families and professionals to gain an understanding of what we do.
  
  

  We wanted to keep it short, simple and easy to understand for everyone involved. This includes, children and young people, adults, co... ]]>Mon, 19 Nov 2012 15:55:05 GMTThe Dangers of Pay Day Loans
  
  

  Sitting on the sofa relaxing after a tough month of paying out for bills, nappies or other expenses, the “payday loan” advert pops up again on the TV.  This time, you really consider it, but what are the dangers?

  
  The age of “pay day loans” has spread so quickly that they are almost common knowledge.   If you watch TV they are advertised, if you pop into town there are shops offering you money to tide you over.  The question is though, at what cost?

  
  A pay day loan is a term used to describe short term loans for people who are employed and have a payroll number.  The idea of the loan is to tide you over until payday and the loans are usually repayable within 28-31 days depending on which company you use.  There are also companies who will lend money to those on benefits or who... ]]>Tue, 20 Nov 2012 12:25:27 GMTEARLY BREAK ON LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS : STEROIDS

   As we sat back and admired the fantastic achievements of the athletes in this year's Olympic events, I felt it is worth taking time to think about the "inspire a generation" message.
  
  

   Yes, this was a fabulous message to deliver and hopefully will go on to help create British athletes of the future but I also thought about the underlying issues associated to body image and competitiveness and the negative role that steroids have had in today's games and the message it sends to young people.

  
  In 2012 Olympic Games 107 athletes were banned due to use of steroids also known as doping to compete. This information was confirmed by the World Anti Doping Agency WADA. 
  
  

  According to the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse there has been reported rises in steroid use in the UK over recent years... ]]>Mon, 26 Nov 2012 13:34:47 GMTThe Office of the Children's Commissioner (OCC) have published a report looking at the impact of parental alcohol in England.  The report, ‘Silent Voices - supporting children and young people affected by parental alcohol misuse' highlights the prevalence of parental alcohol along with the impact it has from the viewpoint of children and young people who have lived with this.  Whilst there are services such as Holding Families working with families where alcohol misuse is taking place the report identifies that more could be done across the country.
  
  For more information please visit 

  http://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/content/press_release/content_479

  ]]>Fri, 14 Dec 2012 11:37:10 GMTThe ‘be safe be cool’ project is targeted at year 9 pupils in schools across Bury and aims to encourage them to act responsibly in the community through a series of interactive workshops.
  
  The Project allowed  a range of organisations working with young people, families and communities such as Early Break, Youth Service, Greater Manchester Police, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue and Bury Council to provide important information to raise awareness about the various risk and effects attached to anti social behaviour.
  
  Bury College performing arts students gave a performance in each school for the first hour, this is a great for these students as the performance is part of their exam coursework. A professional film was made, funded from the Safer Schools Partnership, featuring performances around the risks attached to ASB and the impact of ASB in communities. 

  ]]>Thu, 07 Feb 2013 15:56:40 GMTAs we approach August Bank Holiday weekend, many of us will be making our yearly pilgrimage to our festival of choice in attempt to blow off some steam and dance the days away in a field with thousands of other like minded revellers.  Similarly if that's not your scene no doubt you'll be taking full advantage of the Bank Holiday weekend in some way or another!
  
  We've compiled a short guide from various resources on the internet regarding festival safety, detailing some key festival do's and don'ts - have a good read of it and take on board some of our recommendations as they will come in handy over your Bank Holiday weekend be it at a festival, or not!
  
  Click the link below!
  Festival_Safety.pdf
  
  Mon, 24 Sep 2012 11:06:26 GMT‘How To?’ Support young people’s emotional health and well-being.
  Tier One Universal Services
  
  
  The guidelines were put together following a request from the ‘Emotional Health and Wellbeing of young people Strategic Group’ in Rochdale and as a result a working group was formed to include representation from CAMHS, Early Break and Healthy Schools to develop this tool.
  
  The purpose of these guidelines is to provide support and advice for Tier 1 universal services in how to respond to any young person who presents with emotional health and well being issues. It is designed to help you understand what the young person may be experiencing and to work with them using the exercises in this guide to try and resolve presenting issues.
  
  You can download the ‘How To’ Guide from Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:29:55 GMT
  How To Support Young People's Emotional Health and Well-Being
  
  
  ]]>Wed, 22 Aug 2012 16:54:46 GMTEarly Break has been invited to:-

   

  ‘A reception to celebrate the work of charities supported by

  the Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales’

   

  The Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales and Lloyds TSB Banking Group are holding a joint reception to celebrate the work of charities supported by the Foundation, in particular, those which aim to improve the life choices and chances of young people. We will get the opportunity to meet Members of Parliament in the Houses of Parliament and showcase the work we do with children, young people and families.

   

  Keep visiting our website and following us on Facebook and Twitter to find out how the event went.

  ]]>Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:00:34 GMTOur next Information Day is on : Monday 3^rd June 2013 – 9.30am to 12:00pm
  
  There are further Information Days on:-
  Thursday 15^th August 2013 – 1:00pm – 3.30pm
  Monday 4^th November 2013 – 9.30am – 12:00pm
  Thursday 20^th February 2014 – 1:00pm – 3.30pm

   

  These are held at our Head Office : Annara House, 7-11 Bury Road,... ]]>Wed, 15 May 2013 13:42:11 GMTA new report into the influences on non or light drinking young people in the UK has been released by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation called:-
  
  

  'A positive choice: Young people who drink little or no alcohol' .
  
  

  You can download the full report here or the summary report here.
  
  

  The study examined the lives and choices of young people (aged 16-25) who drink little or no alcohol. It explores the influences that shape their decisions and how their choices and patterns ... ]]>Mon, 10 Sep 2012 03:49:46 GMTEarly Break currently has two educational resource packs available for purchase.
  
  

  Who is Grooming You? - The Stacey Story.
  

  This 3.5 minute animation shows the story of Stacey. Stacey is a young girl who dreams of a prince charming to whisk her away to a better life. Stacey then meets Danny and her prince charming comes with alloy wheels, alcohol, cigarettes and a shiny new mobile phone. The DVD shows how Danny grooms Stacey into Sexual Exploitation.
  
  

  The Learning Support Pack contains a number of resources designed to:
  - facilitate debates around the DVD
  - explore thoughts and feelings around grooming
  - identify risk
  - enhance self esteem
  - allow young people to identify people they could talk to.
  
  

  The pack is currently priced at £45 - for this you will receive the 12 page educational resource pack along with "Who Is Grooming You?" on DVD.
  
  Fri, 07 Sep 2012 09:03:40 GMTComing Soon... ]]>Mon, 20 Aug 2012 09:36:22 GMTDrug/Alcohol Screening Tool for Use with Young People
  
  

  The CRAFFT tool has been taken from a tool developed in Boston, Massachusetts and is a series of 6 questions to help screen young people for high risk drug and alcohol use. It is a short, effective screening tool meant to assess whether a longer conversation about the context of use, frequency, and other risks and consequences of alcohol and other drug use is warranted.  It will then require users to offer a brief intervention or refer to treatment services as appropriate.
  
  

  You do not need specialist drug knowledge to use this ‘tool’, but you will need to use this tool as part of a wider assessment process. You can download a copy of Early Break’s CRAFFT screening tool and referral pathway below by clicking on the document image!
  
  

  Welcome to the Early Break downloads section.  Please use the links below to navigate through various resources available for download from Early Break!
  
  CRAFFT TOOL
  
  FORMS
  
  RESOURCES
  
  HOW TO GUIDES ]]>Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:28:57 GMTEarly Break would like to thank The Henry Smith Charity who has enabled us to reach out to underrepresented and hard to reach communities in both Bury and Rochdale. The support from The Henry Smith Charity has enabled us to ensure we are delivering specialist and targeted work to diverse communities within Bury and Rochdale who have developed a level of trust, understanding and knowledge of services such as Early Break to address the substance related needs that these vulnerable young people and families may present.
  
  

  We would like to thank everyone at The Henry Smith Charity for the continuous support over the past 6 years.
   

  A word from the Service Manager for Bury and Rochdale:
  
  

  Vicky Maloney

   

  Vicky Maloney is the Area Manager for Bury and Rochdale:
  
  

   ‘Early Break have been thrilled to undertake the work funded by The Henry Sm... ]]>Mon, 24 Sep 2012 18:45:18 GMT

  After the success of the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony we've managed to catch up with our patron, Danny Boyle, who has spoken exclusively to us about it.
  
  We're hugely proud of what Danny has achieved and would like to congratulate him on a breath taking Opening Ceremony!
  
  Well done Danny!

  ]]>Wed, 12 Sep 2012 08:26:39 GMT
  Tracy, Paul and Mark where hugely impressed with the calibre of the candidates and thoroughly enjoyed the interview process.
  
  Both Tracey and Paul who have been through the Holding Families project found it rewarding but difficult in having to decide who they would nominate to take this valuable position.
  
  Congratulations to all of the candidates in getting this far and good luck. ]]>Wed, 26 Sep 2012 15:13:28 GMTVicky Stewart and Officer Steve Duckworth delivered the first of eight group sessions with eight dads in HMP Buckley Hall last week.
  
  

  This is the first time the Holding Families Service has been delivered in a prison setting. With the help and support of staff in Buckley Hall and the focus of the dads we are working with, the pilot is looking very promising. Yesterdays session focused on the dads understanding of service, getting to know each other and the effects of substance use on children and on parenting.
  
  

  The feedback from dads was that the session was very good, that it was useful to hear from other dads in similar situations and it was helpful to be in a group that focusses on their families. They felt they got a lot out of the session.
  
  

  Holding Families, however, does not work with the parent using substances in isolation, the CARATs team will be providing keywork sessions in between the group sessions and the Holding... ]]>Thu, 27 Sep 2012 12:36:35 GMT
  
  On the 10^th July  I visited a presentation by young people about ‘The Challenge’ which is a 3 week project that some of our Early Break Young people have taken part in.  The first week was really challenging for all of the young people who took part. They were taken quite literally out of their comfort zones experiencing tough mental and physical challenges in the Highlands of Scotland with other young people that they didn’t know.  Forming relationships and working together they have learned new skills about themselves and one another.  “The physical week is over! Thank God! Today I am off to Manchester Uni :) It has been really ,really fun, loved... ]]>Thu, 27 Sep 2012 14:02:22 GMTIf you have seen the Strawberry Quick post that is currently being shared on Facebook. We would like to reassure parents that this has not come from an official source.
  
  In fact it is a very old post that has been around for a few years and was started in the USA. Whilst we would encourage parents to warn their children about the dangers of accepting gifts or sweets from strangers.
  
  For the full facts and more information please visit http://www.metro.co.uk/news/110855-bungling-cop-spreads-strawberry-meth-myth and  http://www.snopes.com/medical/drugs/candymeth.asp  ]]>Wed, 09 Jan 2013 15:21:14 GMTJulie Bradshaw, Early Break worker, has provided a valuable insight into a couple of agencies which she sees as being invaluable to young people recently.  Here is her testimonial:-
  
  "The past few weeks I have been helping a young person adjust to leaving the family home and make the transition into supportive living accommodation.  This is always a difficult time for anyone moving house but for our young people it can throw up a host of emotional issues.
  
  

  Moving to a different area, feeling insecure, making new friends and feeling in some cases rejected from families.  These are some of the roller coaster emotions young people can experience.  As a professional, working with different agencies can be difficult at times, but I feel that this young person was supported by the great communication between all services involved.
  
  

  This th... ]]>Fri, 21 Sep 2012 12:58:55 GMT
  One parent stated "This course has really opened my eyes to the harm I could have caused to my children if I had carried on binge drinking".
  
  Holding Families will be holding it's celebration and graduation day for parents, children and young people who have attended and completed Holding Families (Group 4) on Tuesday 31st July 2012 at 12:00pm. 
  
  Coordinator Pete Griffin said "im very pleased to see the lives of the families who have completed the group change for the better and to hear the voice of children and young people being heard in their day to day family lives."
  
  For more information on the Holding Families project please visit the 'What We Do' section at the top of the Early Break site. ]]>Sat, 22 Sep 2012 08:10:57 GMTToday Vicky, Barbara and Tom will be attending the Circles of Influence event at Bury Town Hall.
  
  Circles of Influence is an event where young people and decision makers share ideas, experiences and address issues sitting in circles on particular themes.  

  There will be 6 circles with the themes of:

  • ·        Bullying, prejudice and stigma
  • ·        Young people and the law
  • ·        Places to go, things to do
  • ·        Education
  • ·        ... ]]>Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:16:27 GMTThe NTA have created a “Recovery Resources” online resource page for commissioners to support drug treatment and recovery. This is a new and exciting page which draws together evidence, local initiatives and links to useful resources based around the eight drug strategy outcomes.

     

    Holding Families has been listed as a good example of a local initiative for our work in Bury, Rochdale and East Lancashire under “The capacity to be an effective and caring parent”. Have a look! For further information about how you can deliver the service in your area, please contact us on 0161 7233880.

     

    ]]>Sun, 09 Sep 2012 07:30:13 GMTEver wonder why every one is making such a fuss about ‘Huffing’, ‘Tooting’ or ‘Sniffing’.  Or are you new to the terms?  This week Early Break are exploring some of the facts about Volatile Substance Abuse or Solvent Abuse.  If you’re a Young person who is worried about a friend, who has been ‘tooting’ or a parent who is worried about their child, here is some useful information that will hopefully put you in the picture about the dangers of VSA.   

    What are Solvents?

    Fast drying glues and adhesives, assorted paint and petroleum products, lighter fluid, dry-cleaning fluids, assorted aerosol sprays, surgical spirit, cleaners etc.

    
    ‘Solvent abuse involves inhaling the fumes from domestic and industrial products creating a strong intoxication’.
    
    Traditionally referred to as 'glue sniffin... ]]>Tue, 27 Nov 2012 10:53:49 GMTRochdale Holding Families clients were thankful yesterday for a visit by Sergeant Lindsay Booth from Greater Manchester Police Domestic Abuse Unit, who explained the role of the DAU, and the impact of Domestic Abuse upon children and the family to our parent group session. The session was certainly impacting upon all present. Thanks to Sergeant Booth and to GMP for their commitment to the Holding Families Service.

    ]]>Wed, 19 Sep 2012 08:17:09 GMTHolding Families are supporting DEMOS to gather the thoughts and views of parents and their families for research into how alcohol impacts on family relationships. The research will be presented in a report to policy makers, local authorities and charity to help ensure that legislation and support reflects families’ needs.  
    
    For more information check out the DEMOS website at http://www.demos.co.uk/projects
    
    
    ]]>Sun, 02 Sep 2012 21:03:07 GMT
    This training allows professionals to learn about the services Early Break offer, the various treatment interventions for young people with substance abuse issues, overview of basic drug and alcohol awareness, and also looks at basic skills in screening and the referral thresholds and pathways.
    
    We have more sessions available if you wish to book onto these:-
    
    In Depth Training
    Mon 1st Oct 2012 1:30pm-4:30pm
    Wed 5th Dec 2012 9:30am-12:30pm
    Tues 5th Mar 2013 9:30am-12:30pm
    
    Brief Training
    Fri 20th July 2012 1:00pm-2:30pm
    Wed 26th Sept 2012 4:00pm-5:30pm
    Thurs 15th Nov 2012 9:30am-11:00am
    Tues 19th Feb 2013 9:30am-12:30pm
    
    If you would like to book onto these please contact us on 0161 723 3880 or email info@earlybrea... ]]>Fri, 21 Sep 2012 19:36:06 GMTLast Thursday Vicky Maloney attended the RCPCH - Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, where she was part of a working group looking at occupational standards in substance misuse work. The meeting had the following scope:-
    
    

    To improve the competences and confidence of the range of service providers working with young people with substance misuse problems and their families.
    

    1.       Enhancing a child/young person-focused approach in substance misuse
    2.       Sharing tools and techniques with substance misuse professionals working with young people using drugs and alcohol
    3.       To further develop knowledge and skills of young people’s substance misuse workforce 
    ]]>Thu, 20 Sep 2012 14:04:21 GMT
    These pills are said to look like pink ecstasy tablets but contain the potentially fatal amphetamine, paramethoxyamphetamine or PMA.
    
    Police are unsure if this variant of ecstasy tablet is linked to a young girls death in Liverpool last week.  But police are concerned it has been distributed in the area and further afield.
    
    You can read the full stories below...
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-18310110
    http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article4353515.ece ]]>Sat, 15 Sep 2012 10:40:14 GMTYesterday, Early Break's patron, Danny Boyle, visited Radcliffe to officially open the new £10 million Millwood Special School. 
    
    He met with pupils to open the school and talked briefly about his plans for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, of which he has been tight lipped about thus far.
    
    We wish Danny all the success for the Olympics opening ceremony and are sure that it will be a spectacular event.]
    
    Bury Times covered the opening, please check out the article by the clicking the following link!
    http://www.burytimes.co.uk/archive/2012/06/01/Bolton+News+%28bolton_news%29/9739830.Danny_performs_the_opening_ceremony_at_new___10m_school/
    ]]>Wed, 26 Sep 2012 18:38:21 GMT
    The key note speaker was James Timpson OBE, who was awarded the OBE for services to helping and employment of disadvantaged people.  
    
    Barbara stated it was "wonderful to meet and exchange views and ideas with so many skilled individuals, committed to changing the lives of others for the better". ]]>Mon, 24 Sep 2012 17:33:01 GMTThe day covered person centre practice, the law around homelessness, and mental health first aid.  Staff worked hard and enjoyed their time together and will be putting into practice the skills and knowledge developed.
    
    
    ]]>Mon, 24 Sep 2012 16:56:50 GMTShakila delivered the first of 3 Early Break information sessions scheduled for this year at our office in Radcliffe today.  They went extremely well and attracted professionals from the surrounding area.
    The information sessions aim to inform people about Early Break and the services/interventions which we offer to young people.
    
    The sessions also covers the ways in which young people can be referred to the service and the relevant thresholds and pathways associated with this.

    We will be hosting two more later this year, the first being the 13th August and then the next on the 12th November. If you wish to book onto these please email info@earlybreak.co.uk with your request and we will try our best to accommodate you on your selected date.  The sessions last no longer than 2 hours.

     

    ]]>Tue, 25 Sep 2012 16:34:27 GMT
    You can find the blog on the Manchester Marathon 2012 Appeal page! ]]>Sat, 22 Sep 2012 12:04:58 GMTFri, 04 May 2012 14:16:08 GMTDangers of Legal Highs
    
    

    This striking and hard hitting video was created by Louise Allonby in collaboration with ITV Fixers. She was inspired to raise awareness on the dangers of legal highs after she saw her friends being pressured into taking them. Louise won an award for this film in Summer 2011. Although Louise has never worked with Early Break we would like to support her campaign and continue to raise awareness to as many people as possible. 
    
    According to the home office legal highs are “substances that produce the same or similar effects, to drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy but are not controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971&... ]]>Tue, 20 Nov 2012 15:57:49 GMTWell it has been a long time coming but the brand new Early Break website has finally been launched!  Here you can find out full details about the service and what we offer, details about any vacancies we may have, staff that work here, as well as checking out any educational videos and interviews we have taken part in.
    
    We will constantly be adding to the site with information on important drug and alcohol news, success stories in service, information on new services offered by Early Break, ways to get in touch with us and get involved and become a general hive of information for both professionals and young people alike! So please keep checking back.
    
    Remember, LIKE our Facebook page, and also follow us on Twitter as we will use these to informed people about new content on the website.
    
    Over the coming months we will also be developing the Early Break Champions page which is an opportunity for you to become involved and support vulnerable yo... ]]>Fri, 21 Sep 2012 08:14:19 GMT 
    

    You Tube Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbjcuIUKRfI
    
    
    ]]>Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:28:19 GMTEarly Break have entered the upcoming Manchester Marathon on the 29^th April 2012.

    We will be running to raise money to contribute to the continued development of the service for young people and their families.

    
    If you would like to contribute please click here -> Manchester Marathon 2012 Appeal, this is the best way to keep up to date our fundraising efforts and track our progress!

    Please follow us on Twitter (@EarlyBreakUK) Or Facebook (www.facebook.com/EarlyBreakUK) to keep a track on how Rhyse and Carl are doing

    
    Thank you for taking the time to read this!

    ]]>Fri, 14 Sep 2012 18:21:35 GMTIf after 3 drags of a spliff you don't fancy delirium, stupor, hallucinations, dehydration and vomiting then this is not a 'legal' drug you want to take.

     

    ‘The product contains mostly damiana, a shrub with small, yellow flowers that grows in dry, rocky climates generally found in Mexico, California and Texas. The herb affects the nervous system and is advertised as an antidepressant to soothe anxiety, nervousness and mild depression’.

    Early Break workers have researched this new ‘legal high’ following reports from medical professionals who have reported use of this substance amongst some young people. http://www.standard.net/stories/2010/02/13/legal-high-officials-safety-damiana-black-mamba-unknown

    There is not much information available about this substance but American Health department official... ]]>Thu, 27 Sep 2012 16:12:09 GMTAccess to and use of this site is provided by Early Break subject to the following Terms and Conditions:
    
    1.0 Your use of this site constitutes acceptance of these Terms and Conditions, which take effect on the date of your first use of the site.

    2.0 The Early Break reserves the right to change the Terms and Conditions at any time by posting changes online. Your continued use of the site after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of this agreement as modified by the posted changes.

    3.0 Copyright Restrictions:

    3.1  All rights reserved; no part of this website, including information, images, photos, logos, names and icons may be copied, republished, posted, broadcast or reproduced in any form whatsoever without the prior written permission of the copyright holders.

    3.2 Documents on the site may not be downloaded, altered or ada... ]]>Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:42:29 GMT

    People may be able to see which sites on the Internet you have visited by viewing the files in these folders. In order to cover your tracks you need to:

    
    
    • Delete all temporary internet files from your hard disk
    • Delete all links in your history folder.
      •  

    Internet Explorer 

    In Internet Explorer, versions 6 through to 9, the procedure for removing your history and clearing data is similar therefore  following step-by-step should work for most users.
    
     Step 1)  Open Internet Explorer and click on 'Tools' on the top menu, then click on 'Internet Options' ... ]]>Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:31:06 GMT
    

  ... ]]>Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:51:51 GMT Every Charity has their own objectives. These are statements of what they are aiming to achive through the work that they are undertaking.  Early Break Charity Objects are; The relief of sickness and the preservation of good health of young people who use legal and illegal drugs by the provision of counselling, support and treatment services for such persons and their families The provision of support and advocacy services to vulnerable young people and their parents/carers The provision of residential care to vulnerable young people where substance misuse is a factor in creating their vulnerability Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:16:46 GMTEarly Break's Patron is Oscar winning director Danny Boyle.   Danny has been the Patron of Early Break since 2009. Danny was born in Radcliffe on 20 October 1956 and he maintains strong links with his home town and is an avid follower of Bury FC. He went to St Mary’s Primary School and then to Thornleigh Salesian College in Bolton, where his love of English Literature and drama were cultivated.  Danny went on to University at Bangor in North Wales and whilst there, joined the Joint Stock Theatre Company working with them after he graduated. From there, he went to the Royal Court Theatre in 1982.  After working in television on series like Morse and Mr Wroe’s Virgins, Danny directed his first film, Shallow Grave, in 1994 and the rest, as they say, is cinematic history. Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:36:34 GMTThe Service Holding Families is a multi-disciplinary service that aims to help children, parents and families with problems associated with significant parental substance misuse, where children and adults needs are dealt with and responded to at the same time. Early Break is a unique service, offering a client centred approach to young people and their families who wish to address their substance related needs. Since 1994, we have gained a great deal of experience of working with vulnerable clients, being a consistently reflective service, believing this is the only way to develop and move forward so that we are always delivering the best service to our clients. We work with clients to empower them to make changes in their lives, helping them to make positive decisions and to become responsible for the decisions they make. History A group of managers from Early Break, Bury Drug and Alcohol Service and... ]]>Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:16:06 GMT Holding Families supports whole families and we will provide support for carers however we can. Parents on the Holding Families Service often would like to include carers in our work with families which means carers feel involved and can have a say in decisions made by the family. This works well because carers can often have an insight into family life as another adult which drug and alcohol users may not have realised before and, at the same time, help parents recover from t... ]]>Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:08:56 GMTSupport for Parents Who do we work with? Holding Families supports parents and carers who have problems with drugs or alcohol. We refer to both as "parents" in our work. Parents may not live with their children but substance misuse may still have an negative impact on relationships in the family. Adults who use substances may live in a household with children. This can be partners of a parent, relatives, friends and so on. It is important to be aware of what children are exposed to and how they feel about it. We can help with this. We support families from "early intervention" to parents who have had their children placed in local authority care or with kinship carers (family or friends). It is important to understand that services wherever possible want to keep children with their families, and in most cases, parents have the opportunity to change their... ]]>Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:08:13 GMTEarly Break's Film Launch On Wednesdsay 26th October 2011, at the MET Theatre in Bury, Early Break premiered 3 films that had been created and produced by our service users. Firstly we had the great delight in showing "2 bottles of Wine and a Bag of Chips". This film was created by the children and young people involved in t... ]]>Wed, 26 Sep 2012 22:12:08 GMTEarly Break Website Privacy Policy This privacy policy sets out how Early Break uses and protects any information that you give us when you use this website. Earlybreak is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using this website, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement. Earlybreak may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This policy is effective from 1st January 2012 What we collect We may collect the following information: name and job title contact information including email address demographic information such as postcode, preferences and interests o... ]]>Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:39:41 GMT Every effort has been made to ensure that the information on this website is accurate, but we recognise that this is an on going process and will update content when we are aware of changes to be made. Please contact us via info@earlybreak.co.uk if you have any concerns about the information contained on this website. Early Breaks accepts no liability for material contained in websites of organisations linked externally from this website.   ]]>Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:44:37 GMTWhat is “Family Centred Time”? This is a service offered by Early Break after consultation with the young person and their Advocacy Worker.  It’s a time and space for families to talk about issues that may impact on a young person’s drug/alcohol use and to explore how this may affect family life.  It’s a free service… it’s not a course, a set of instructions on how to be a parent or a quick fix, but it will help you understand why your young person may be using substances. It’s ‘time’ for your family members to talk about issues that concern all of you. What is Family Centred Time for? • It’s to help your young person reduce their drug/alcohol use • It strengthens family support for your young person • It i... ]]>Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:50:33 GMTWhat is “Family Centred Time”? It’s a relaxed meeting in a safe environment with other members of your family that you have identified that you want to be there.  It helps you to identify issues connected with your drug/alcohol use and to understand your family relationships and hopefully strengthen them.  This time allows you and your famly to slove your problems together • Your Early Break worker will explain everything fully • Your normal Early Break sessions continue outside Family Centred Time  • You will have regular “Family Centred Time” meetings decided by you and the others who attend, these may be weekly, fortnightly or monthly • The people you have invited may be offered some time on their own by the family worker What is “Fami... ]]>Mon, 19 Nov 2012 14:15:29 GMTEarly Break is a unique service, offering a client centred approach to young people who wish to address their substance related needs. The whole service works from a person centred philosophy, meaning that the service is client led.   We work in a way with our young people, and their families, so that they are empowered to make changes in their lives, we help them to make positive decisions and to become responsible for the decisions they make. Please visit About Us to read more about our ethos. Find out about Holding Families Find out about our The Early Break Board of Trustees/Directors meets for full Business Meetings every 8-10 weeks and in between will hold Special Focus Meetings to concentrate on specific aspects of Company development or training.  At each Business Meeting an operational manager will present updates and issues relating to their particular area of service.  The Board is always keen to understand the work of the Company in practice and members will shadow workers to further their understanding of different aspects of service delivery.  Board members are always invited to join the full-day training events for Company workers.   Board members will be involved in specific tasks according to their areas of expertise and interest and will lead on items, as appropriate.   Please click the above picture to download the Holding Families Referral Form. ]]>Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:45:14 GMTSupport for Children and Young People Having a parent who uses drugs or alcohol can have an effect on children. We understand that because parents use drugs or alcohol does not mean they are a "bad" parent, but there are certain things that they need to change to make their children feel better. Holding Families can provide different types of support for children and young people in the service ranging from one to one work, group work and drop-ins. The idea of this support is so we can help children to talk about their feelings about their parent or carers with their worker, and about any other things they would like some help with. Our Young People’s Workers are experiences and are able to work with children in a way that they will feel comfortable with. This might be talking, using craft, drawing pictures or supporting to get involved... ]]>Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:04:26 GMT The Holding Families Service User Group in Rochdale are hosting a Christmas fair on:   19th December 2011 1pm-3pm at Early Break, Water Street, Rochdale, OL16 1TL Fundraising All proceeds from the fair will be used to fund a celebration event for those families currently involved in Rochdale group 3. This will reward the children of those families affected by parental substance misuse and also celebrate the achievements and changes these families have made.   What’s on? The Christmas fair will have :-       Tom... ]]>Tue, 18 Sep 2012 03:07:04 GMT My name is Katie, and i've just begun my post here at Early Break in East lancs as an Advocacy Worker linked with the Youth Offending Team in Accrington………… Interviewed by young people! Yikes! But what a fantastic way for the service users of Early Break to take ownership of the recruitment of workers that are employed. I’ve never been interviewed in this way before, but aside from the nerves, a great experience and insight to the person centred ethos of the service.   Having begun my post here in East Lancs in early November I have been out and about meeting the team and finding out more about the drug and alcohol support the Early Break service offers to the young people in our community.   With a very warm welcome from the team I got stuck in with Alcoh... ]]>Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:43:08 GMT Introduction to service Holding Families is a multi-disciplinary service that aims to help children, parents and families with problems associated with significant parental substance misuse, where children and adults needs are dealt with and responded to at the same time. In other words, we work with families where parents have a problem with drugs and alcohol. We work with each family member separately and as a family unit, for about five months. This also means that although Holding Families has its own programme and systems, we also use local, existing services to work with families to make changes to improve family life. At the Early Break residential training course for workers in May 2008 we revisited the core values of the Service. What is Early Break founded on? What values do we share? What values would our partner agencies, colleagues and clients name as characteristic of Early Break?  For the workers present, the list was:-  • Openness and transparency • Trustworthiness • Fairness • Fidelity • Equality  • Empathy • Respect for others and self • Reliability  • Integrity • Fearless presence • Excellence  • Independence • Flexibility  • Generosity  ]]>Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:29:41 GMT                              Bury & Rochdale                              East Lancs Referral Form                                  Referral Form At Early Break we accept referrals for any young person using drugs or alcohol within our age ranges.  Referrals can be take... ]]>Mon, 03 Dec 2012 10:08:04 GMT  Who is Grooming You? The Stacey Story This is a 3.5 minute animation showing the story of Stacey. Stacey is a young girl who dreams of a prince charming to whisk her away to a better life. Stacey then meets Danny and her prince charming comes with alloy wheels, alcohol, cigarettes and a shiny new mobile phone. The DVD shows how Danny grooms Stacey into Sexual Exploitation. Drink Spiking Using their own personal experiences, some of the young people at Plymouth's YWCA have created the video above, raising awareness on drink spiking. Drink spiking is when alcohol or another drug is added to a drink without you knowing. It can be very dangerous and is often related to crimes such as robberies and sexual assaults. It can happen to anyone regardless of their age or gender. Alcohol is in fact the most common substance associated with spiking. Often alcohol can be added to drinks unknowingly and can eventually cause the same effects as being spiked with Rohypnol (classically known as the “Date Rape” drug). ... ]]>Sun, 16 Sep 2012 05:40:46 GMT This section of the website tells you what is going on within Early Break and how you can become involved with our service.  This may be through becoming a volunteer, donating to the service or becoming a champion.  There are also articles about some of our clients experiences of the different aspects of service.  All these are anonymised to protect the identity of our clients.   ]]>Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:01:56 GMT Find out about our Advocacy Work Find out about our Alternative Therapies Find our about our CAMHS Link Workers Find out about our GP with Special Interest Find out about the Early Break believes that our best and most valued resource is our work force and expectations on their abilities to deliver an exceptional service to young people are high.  In order to facilitate such a level of commitment from our staff, training is an important aspect of Early Break life. All our staff are given the opportunity to attend a five day residential training course on managing change in a person centred service. This course trains and reinforces the basic and important beliefs of the Service. It is important that Early Break keeps its remit of being a young person’s treatment service firmly in its focus. It is not our intention to become a generic young people’s service.The Management Team at Early Break have a very “hands on” approach and are fully involved in the work of the Service. There is an open door policy for workers to approach the Senior Manag... ]]>Tue, 09 Aug 2011 12:58:09 GMT Supervision at Early Break is an integral element of the support mechanism for the service; it provides a safe arena for workers to develop their reflective practice.  Supervision provides the necessary space for Early Breaks 'client centred practitioners' to reflect on their work in a non-judgemental atmosphere. Supervision is frequently challenging for both professional and personal development, but with the core aim of developing the best standards in professional practice. The Early Break supervisors are external to the management system of the Service, offering a different aspect of s... ]]>Mon, 11 Mar 2013 10:07:56 GMTAt Early Break we use alternative therapies to help our young people when making changes to their substance use.  The therpies used are set out in each individuals care plan.  Below is a description of the different therapies we use.                                                     &... ]]>Thu, 06 Dec 2012 15:13:55 GMT       Vicky Maloney Chief Executive  I have worked for Early Break for ten fantastic years. My first five years at Early Break were a secondment position in Bury Youth Offending Service working in an advocacy role with young people. Since 2005 I have been in a management role in the service and a more recent progression has been to the Area Service Manager. I am responsible f... ]]>Mon, 20 May 2013 10:52:38 GMTThank you for coming to our staff page to find out more about who we are and what we do.                                    Rukhsar Ahmed Rukshar is a BME outreach worker in East Lancashire                                        ... ]]>Mon, 03 Jun 2013 10:23:01 GMTEarly Break is proud to say that we hold the 'Investors in Children' Kitemark.  We have held this in East Lancashire since June 2009 and Bury and Rochdale since May 2011.   At Early Break we believe that Service User involvement is an essential part of our service.  Here are some examples of where Service Users have been involved in different aspects of service Service Users are heavily involved in new Service developments and play an active role in the recruitment of new members of staff.  Each individual interviewed for a role within Early Break sits infront of a panel of Service Users as part of the interview process Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:04:10 GMT CAMHs Link Workers CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health services) are NHS based services that specialise in supporting young people who are experiencing difficulties with their behaviour, emotional well being or mental health.   In each of the area's that Early Break covers there is an identified CAMHS link worker. The role of the Early Break CAMHS Link worker is to support the young people engaging with CAMHS that are identified as also having substance related needs.  These young people receive the same service from Early Break that any young person would receive.   YOT Link Workers Each local authority in England and Wales has a Youth Offending Team which is made up of representatives from the Police, education, health, drug and ... ]]>Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:38:28 GMTEach local authority in England and Wales has a Youth Offending Team which is made up of representatives from the Police, education, health, drug and alcohol services, housing and social services.  When a young person is referred to the YOT they undergo a national assessment which identifies their individual needs and a package of care is put in place to address these needs.   Each of the YOT's in Bury, Rochdale and East Lancashire has an Early Break worker based within the team.  The role of the Early Break worker is to support the young people that are identified as having substance related needs.  These young people receive the same service from Early Break that any young person would receive.  The only difference is that the Early Break worker updates the YOT case holder about the work the young person is doing with them and this is also recorded on the YOT system.   ]]>Thu, 28 Jul 2011 10:05:44 GMTThe Sunrise Team is a specialist multi agency team that aims to tackle Sexual Exploitaion and related harm in the Rochdale Borough.  The Sunrise Team was launched in 2009 and brings together professionals from the police, children's social care, sexual health and Early Break.   The Sunrise Team engages with young people who are at risk of being exploited or have experienced exploitation.  The role of the Early Break worker in the Sunrise Team is to work with the young people identified as having issues with substances.  The service that they are offered is the same as that which is offered to any young person accesing Early Break with an emphasis placed around reducing risks and harm attached to both substance use and sexual exploitation.     ]]>Wed, 25 May 2011 13:00:09 GMTThe Early Intervention aspect of the Early Break Service is an innovative prevention Service which primarily targets young people in Bury and Rochdale under the age of 19 years, who are vulnerable to and/or using substances, including alcohol. The Service is delivered through street and community/school based work, to engage those young people who are taking risks, particularly with drugs and alcohol.  The aims of the Early Intervention Service are  To reduce harm the harm caused by substance use  To support young people to make healthier choices To improve the quality of life for young people To ensure current drug and alcohol use by young people does not escalate<... ]]>Thu, 04 Aug 2011 11:38:08 GMTAt Early Break we have our own doctor in each area who have a special interest in working with young people who are using substances.  The Early Break doctor's do not see every Early Break client; they see the young people where it has been identified in their care plan that it would be appropriate for them to see the doctor.   The Early Break doctor's do more than prescribe medication.  They can offer advice and treatment around medical issues which may or may not be related to substance use.  The doctor's are able to support the Advocacy Worker in educating the young person about the health effects of using substances and can arrange for screening to be carried out if needed.   The Early Break doctor's may also make contact with the young person's own GP. At Early Break we do not routinely drug test young people.  ]]>Wed, 25 May 2011 12:16:23 GMTEarly Break is the chosen Young Person's Drug and Alcohol Service for Bury, Rochdale and East Lancashire.  In Bury and Rochdale we support young people up to the age of 19 and in East Lancashire up to the age 21.  Early Break is involved with the 'Living Safe and Sound' group in Bury and the 'Within Reach' group in Rochdale.  These groups are for young people aged 18 to 25 in Bury and 18 to 25 in Rochdale.  The aim of these groups is to support the transition into Adult Treatment Services.   Person centred philosophy is in the foundations of Early Break.  What this means for the young people that we work with is that they are at the centre of everything we do.  Each young person sets their own goals and targets and the role of their worker is that they support them to achieve these goals.  Designed, in part with Early Break Council members, Lee Pickering came down to the Bury Road offices and set to work creating the fantastic artwork you can see in the pictures. You Tube Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3eZGmzGbwI s ]]>Sun, 23 Sep 2012 23:09:39 GMTYouth Inclusion Programmes (YIPs), established in 2000, are tailor-made programmes for 8 to 17-year-olds who are at high risk of involvement in crime or anti-social behaviour.  YIPs target young people in a neighbourhood who are considered to be most at risk of offending, but are also open to other young people in the local area. The programme operates in 110 of the most deprived/high crime neighbourhoods in England and Wales. YIPs aim to reduce youth crime and anti-social behaviour in the neighbourhoods in which they work. Young people on the YIP are identified through a number of different agencies, including the YOT, police, children and family services, local education authorities or schools, neighbourhood wardens and anti-social behaviour teams. The programme gives young people somewhere safe ... ]]>Sun, 16 Sep 2012 05:59:20 GMT Rochdale Transition Group is an exciting new project aimed at supporting young people aged 18 to 25 through the transition into Adult Drug Service.    The group is held every friday afternoon from 1pm until 4pm at the Early Break premises on Water Street, Rochdale.   Clients attending the group have named it "Within Reach."  They thought this name reflects that everything from goals, aspirations and support are "Within Reach" through attending the group.   At each session there are alternative therapies available which aim to support the changes clients are making with their substance use.  There is more detailed information about the therapies under the 'what we do' section of the website.   If you think that you may want to attend the group why not come down and see what you think.  It would be great to see... ]]>Wed, 26 Sep 2012 14:31:18 GMTOscar winning director Danny Boyle became a Patron of Early Break in 2009.  He is best known for his work on films such as Slumdog Millionaire, 127 hours and Trainspotting.  Danny was born in Radcliffe and is proud of the work that Early Break so.  Click on the video above to hear what he has to say about Early Break.  ]]>Sat, 15 Sep 2012 17:08:01 GMTAdvocacy work is the name that Early Break has given to the 1:1 work we do with young people.  Each Early Break client has their own advocacy worker.  Below is a description of the process that takes place when a referral is received at Early Break.   After discussing the referral and the young person has agreed to engage with Early Break there is an assesment process that takes place.  This involves completing different assessment forms so that the Advocacy Worker can get a really good understanding of the different aspects of the young person’s life and the support needs that they may have. After completing the assessment paperwork the young person and Advocacy Worker put together something called a care plan. This is basically a plan of what the young person and Advocacy Worker are going to do together.  The yo... ]]>Wed, 18 May 2011 12:44:45 GMT We would like the way we conduct our business to reflect the values held by the Service in its service offer. Therefore as a business, Early Break will : - Be trustworthy: Commissioners, partner agencies, employees and service users want to do business with an organisation they can trust. We will demonstrate this through reliability, honesty, transparency and truthfulness  - Be fair: We will treat our service users, employees, partner agencies and commissioners with respect, equality and fairness – as we would wish to be treated ourselves - Demonstrate integrity: We will strive to keep our promises. We are c... ]]>Wed, 11 May 2011 11:17:11 GMT Early Break is a service designed to meet the needs of young people under the age of twenty-one and their families with regard to drug and alcohol use.  The Service aims to provide treatment interventions together with education, prevention and early intervention underpinned by unbiased, clear and concise information.  Early Break’s work is rooted in client centred theory and philosophy:- • we believe that children and young people have a right to be involved in decisions which affect their lives • we believe that children and young people have a right to respect, to be listened to and protected from harm • we work in a way that facilitates informed decision making by children and young people about their d... ]]>Wed, 11 May 2011 11:14:21 GMT Early Break has an excellent track record of delivering substance related treatment interventions to young people under the age of 21.  The Service has been an innovative provider of interventions into young people's substance related needs since 1994 through:- • A clear person-centred ethos in which all workers, clients, parents and partners are valued and shown respect • Early intervention through proactive outreach • Innovative treatment interventions through jointly negotiated treatment plans with clients • Development and implementation of the Family Centred Time model where Service workers have shown considerable strength, skill and experience in working with parents/carers, who often present in crisis themselves • High levels of invest... ]]>Wed, 11 May 2011 11:12:07 GMT “To strive for continued excellence in Service delivery whilst extending the range of innovative services offered to young people and their families. To achieve this we will embrace the possibilities offered through Social Enterprise and diversification, steering the Service into a strengthened focus on protection and support for vulnerable young people.” We would like the way we conduct our business to reflect the values held by the Service in its service offer. Therefore as a business, Early Break will : Early Break is a unique service, offering a client centred approach to young people who wish to address their substance related needs. Since 1994 we have gained a great deal of experience of working with young people, we have been a consistently reflective service, believing that this is the only way to develop and move the service forward so that we are always delivering the best possible service to our clients. The whole service works from a person centred philosophy, meaning that the service is client led.  We believe that young people have a right to be listened to, respected and protected from harm. We work in a way with our young people that empower them to make changes in their lives, helping them to make positive decisions and to become resp... ]]>Wed, 11 May 2011 10:33:33 GMT