&
This page lists a selection of organisations which provide expert health, advice and support in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The List gratefully acknowledges the support of the Scottish Executive in funding this page.
Alcohol and Narcotics
Glasgow
Alcoholics Anonymous
so Wellington Street. 220 221-1
.\lon l'ri 9am 5pm. 08-15 76‘) 7555 I24 liourl, (iroup support to help tackle alcoholism.
Dumbarton Area Council on Alcohol 82 Dumbarton Road. ('lydeliank. 052 088 I. ()llt‘i's general information and ad\ ice including one- lovollt' counselling for young people. Glasgow City Council Addiction Partnership \\ w \\.glasgo\\.go\.tll\. .-\ range of city \y ide scry ices. including specific support for young people myolyed in drug and alcohol use. Glasgow Council on Alcohol
lsl l‘ilool‘. lil'lslol and “ex! House. 32 l’nion Street. 220 .i883. Information. ady ice and one«to»one counselling for under 25s and others al'lected by alcohol.
RCA Trust .\lirren Home. Back Sneddon Street. l’aisley. 887 0880. l’i‘oiect giying l2 25—year-olds ad\ice on addiction issues.
Edinburgh
Alcoholics Anonymous
38 ('ockburn Street. ('all 225 (i000 for meeting times.
Crew 2000
52 ('ockburn Street. 220 3403.
.\lon Sat l 5pm.'l'liu 4 8pm. Information on drugs and se\ual health and friendly ady ice from trained workers.
Edinburgh 8. Lothian Council on Alcohol 0 ('liflon 'l'errace. 337 8188. Information. ady ice and support. Turning Point 3 Smith‘s Place. 55-1 75in. .\lon l‘ri 0.30am 5.30pm. One to one counselling for addicts and support for their families.
West Lothian Drug and Alcohol Service ~15 Adelaide Street. (‘i'aigshilL l.i\ ingston. (H506 430 225. ('ounselling. help in dealing with family issues and help in working towards employment opportunities. Youth Action Project c/o Community House. 33 MIN l’lace. liliburn. l.i\ ingxton. 0l50(3 40] 588. .-\d\ ice and information for young people about substance misuse.
National
Drinkline
0800 017 8282. Mon—Fri 9am—l 1pm. Sat & Sun o—l lpm. Free confidential information and support.
Alcohol Focus Scotland
166 Buchanan Street. Glasgow. 01-11 572 6700. wwwalcohol-foeus- scotland.org.uk. With its informatiye. accessible website. this group offers an eycellent source of information for people worried about their drinking. Know the Score 0800 587 5870.
\y \\ \\ .ktltm thescot'einfo. (‘onfidential drugs information. 24 hours a day. 7 day .\ a week. (‘alls made from a landline \\ ill not show up on a phone bill and are free. Calls from a mobile vary in cost depending on network and may show up on your bill. The website has lots of ady ice for anyone affected
1 16 THE LIST ‘ ‘ Feb—5 HR! 232:"
HEALTH&ADV|CE
l‘} drugs ttlltl tlt‘l‘alls Hi lUc'aI support
Smokeline 0800 84 8-1 84 lanci\uragement and support tor [hing “ll” “All” 10 stop or liaye recently \ll‘l‘l‘k'tl \lili‘lxlllL'.
Mental Wellbeing
National
Breathing Space 0.800 838 58" or .\linicoin 0800 3]" 100.
w w w.bi'eatliingspacesct\tlandctxult. opm 2am. l-ree. confidential ad\ice for anyone feeling low or depressed. 9pm.
Sexual Health and STDs
Glasgow
Body Positive Strathclyde 0 Stllitlylol‘tl l’ltlL‘L‘. Sutlclilt‘lltlll Sil‘t‘t‘t. 248 9285, w \\ wbody positl\e.ot‘g.tll\. Drop-in centre open Mon. Wed. l'ri 0am 5pm. Tue tk Thu. 1 lain 8pm. Information and support for people
\y ho are HIV positiye. Genito-Urinary Medicine Clinic (GUM Clinic) The Sandy ford lnitiatiy e. 2 o Sandyford Place. Sauchiehall Street. 2l l 860]. Drop in Clinics .\lon l-‘ri 8.30.110 l0am. By appointment at other times until 7pm Mon l'i‘i.
Rape Crisis Centre ()HI 552 3200. w w w.rapecrisisscolland.org.uk. Tue Wed tk Sun 7 9pm: Thu l 3pm. lice and confidential sei‘y ice offering information and support to women and girls \\ ho hay e been or fear they may haye been se\ual|y abused or assaulted.
Edinburgh
GUM Clinic l.auriston Building. Lauriston Place. 530 2103. Mon l-‘ri l0am 5pm by appointment. l‘or urgent problems. there is a walk-in clinic where no appointment is necessary from 8.30 l0.00am.
.\lon l'i‘i.
Edinburgh Women’s Rape 8. Sexual Abuse Centre 0131 550 9437. \y w \y .rapeci‘isisscotland.org.uk. (‘all for opening hours. See Rape ('i‘isis ('entl'e. (ilasgoyy.
National
National AIDS Helpline 0800 567 I23
Sexwise 0800 282 030. 7am l2pm. l’royides information and advice on sexuality and sexual health for young people.
Sources of Advice
National
Crimestoppers 0800 555 I l 1. (‘all at any time with information about any crime. (‘alls are free and cannot be traced.
Victim Support Line 08-15 30 30 900. limotional support and practical ady ice for anyone affected by crime. lt's confidential. of course.
Women’s Health & Support
Glasgow
Glasgow Women’s Aid 41h Floor. 30 Bell Street. 553 2022. 9.30am—4.30pm Mon-Fri. except Wed which is 9.30am—lpm for drop-in. and afternoon by appointment only. Drop- in and telephone counselling for
Edinburgh
Edinburgh and Lothian Women’s Aid 4 (‘heyne Street. 315 8| i0. Mon. Wed. Fri 10am—3pm. Thu 2—7pm. Sat 10am~l2..‘\0pm. Refuge. support and help for women suffering physical. mental or se\ual abuse from their partners.
National Domestic Abuse Helpline 0800 027 1234 12-1 hour».
THE TRUTH ABOUT DOMESTIC ABUSE
‘Domestic abuse’ is a frightening term. It conjures up images of terrible bullying going on away from society’s prying eye, perpetrated against people too scared to ask for help. Officially defined by the Scottish Executive as ‘any form of physical, mental and emotional abuse or sexual abuse which takes place between partners or ex-partners, committed either in the home or elsewhere‘, it’s a wide reaching monster.
The real extent of its occurrence isn’t known. However, Scottish Executive figures show a 10% increase in the number of incidents of domestic abuse recorded by police in 2003, from 36,010 in 2002 to 39,643 in 2003. Scottish Women’s Aid reported 60,000 requests for help in 2000/2001 and states that one in four women will experience it at some point in their lives.
Harder than trying to quantify the issue is trying to understand the reasons behind it.
It would be easy to pin the blame on factors such as alcohol, especially when considering the 1996 British Crime survey which found that in 32% of cases of domestic violence (the victims being women) the offenders were reported to be under the influence of alcohol at the time.
But Nel Whiting, training worker with Scottish Women’s Aid, says that blaming alcohol for domestic abuse is to remove responsibility from violent partners. ‘There’s no causal link between alcohol and domestic abuse. After all, there are many people who drink but never abuse, just as there are many people who don’t and do. Some women might use alcohol as an excuse for their partner’s abuse. It might be easier than admitting there is a real problem’.
Similarly, it would be simplistic to put domestic abuse down to mental illness. The vast majority of men who abuse are not mentally ill. Research shows that the proportion of abusers with mental health problems is no higher than in society as a whole. And if an abusive person was mentally ill, would they not also abuse their colleagues, friends or strangers in the street?
Domestic abuse is the result of an abuser’s desire for power and control and certainly not caused by stress, unemployment, poverty, alcohol, mental illness or by the people who experience the abuse.
The only way to regain control and stop having to live in fear is to talk about it and seek help from an organisation like Scottish Women’s Aid and the Scottish Domestic Abuse Helpline, that can offer support, advice and refuge if necessary.
I Scott/sh Domestic Abuse He/p/i‘ne 0800 027 7 234 I wwwscort/shwomensa/d. Org. uk I wvwv. domesticabuse. co. uk