CAAP’s goal to reduce alcohol related harm
By Mary Dennehy
THE evaluation of the Community Action on Alcohol Project (CAAP) was launched in Tallaght this week, with the aim of securing dedicated resources to fund the implementation of community-based and community-shaped alcohol awareness programmes.
The Tallaght Drugs and Alcohol Task Force has been delivering CAAP since 2016, after it included alcohol in its remit back in 2014.
Fiona Murphy, Cathy Purdy and Gerace Hill
CAAP’s approach is ‘community mobilisation’, which encourages communities to work with stakeholders to take action and bring about change.
According to the evaluation report launched, CAAP’s goal is to reduce alcohol related harm, including the harm experienced by a community and not just the person misusing alcohol.
This alcohol-related harm includes anti-social behaviour, public safety, hidden harm experienced by children of alcohol-misusing parents, family breakdowns, accidents and primary health care issues.
The evaluation also documents that in 2017, most recent figures, there was the equivalent of one liquor licence per 901 people between the ages of 15 and 64 years within the task force’s area.
During a community survey, more than 80 per cent of residents said that the sale and consumption of alcohol in their local communities “led to safety, public space, and physical health challenges”.
All residents surveyed reported that alcohol misuse has led to mental health problems in the community, with “key challenges” in relation to young people including the “easy availability” of alcohol and the impact of parental substance misuse.
The most requested awareness initiatives, according to the CAAP evaluation, related to increasing education on alcohol use in school settings.
Initiatives to address the effects of alcohol on the mind and the need to raise alcohol awareness among young people were also noted.
A number of awareness campaigns have in recent years been held within the community on issues such as alcohol and pregnancy, alcohol and mental health and making healthier choices and knowing what a standard drink is.
Information stands, seminars, workshops, training days and inter-agency projects have also being staged within the community.
To read the evaluation, the launch of which took place in County Library, Tallaght, on Tuesday, visit www.tallaghtdatf.ie or follow the task force on Facebook.
Details of the services and projects delivered by the task force are also available on it’s website.
