Help Not Harm at Electric Picnic
Help Not Harm are delighted to be partnering with Electric Picnic for a second consecutive year to offer drug services. Help Not Harm will provide drug welfare, awareness and outreach services at 6 stations throughout the site.
This work was imperative to the health and wellbeing of festival goers last year where many potentially harmful cases were treated. Suncream and healthcare items were distributed along with crisis support, drug information, free water and spare clothes for what turned out to be torrential weather for the 55,000 attendees. Feedback from medics, Code Blue, security and an Gardaí Síochána was positive and our services are welcome back.
“By including an additional provision for drug services, the quality of other services improves because the burden of drug-related cases (including alcohol) decreases”, Executive Director, Graham de Barra.
Help Not Harm will provide drug welfare, awareness and outreach throughout the site and evictions. These hubs will provide a point of contact to link festival goers with drug services and will allow information exchange between service providers and hard to reach populations. The aim for servicing evictions is to prevent non-violent alcohol and other drug-related emergencies by providing a chill out space for people to sober up and give them a second chance. It lessens drug-related crime in the neighbourhood of Stradbally by having drug specialists to adequately handle these scenarios through crisis intervention and deescalation.
This is the second year that Help Not Harm have conducted welfare services throughout the UK and Ireland. Other major festivals we have worked at includes Boomtown Fair, an 80,000 person festival in partnership with Chill Welfare. Our volunteers are trained in harm reduction, first aid, drug awareness and crisis support. There are specialists on the welfare team including medical doctors from the HSE, nurses, drug and social workers, and addiction specialists. HIV Ireland have kindly contributed health promotional materials.
Look out for the Help Not Harm blue for a trusted source of information on drugs and sexual health and providing you with awareness and support for any alcohol and other drug-related query.
“The service will increase from 24 to 40 volunteers this year, which will make a huge difference in how efficient the service can be. We will operate a 24-hour service again this year, so be reassured there will be help available at any time in the campsites and throughout the festival”.
For arranging festival welfare or for getting in touch, please contact us at support@helpnotharm.org or visit www.helpnotharm.org
For media inquiries contact Fergal on 0871810772
