Later this week a video recording of the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs’ 2010 Annual Lecture held on 23rd June will be placed on its website: www.welshcouncil.org.uk
This year’s lecture – How we choose to live and die lives on – was delivered by Professor Baroness Ilora Finlay of Llandaff and dealt with the controversial topic of assisted suicide – yet another way in which drugs can be used creatively or destructively, depending on your attitude towards assisted suicide.
Professor Baroness Finlay is also Patron to another of the Welsh Council’s initiatives – The Living Room Cardiff – a free, bilingual day-care centre offering help for anyone experiencing difficulties relating to alcohol, drugs (prescribed or illicit), or any other dependency, such as eating disorders, love and sex addiction, gambling and self-harm. The first stage of this exciting initiative will be officially opened next June to coincide with Bill White’s visit to the UK to deliver our 2011 Annual Lecture at the Welsh Assembly.
This weekend (30th, 31st July & 1st August) also sees the Welsh Council’s third retreat being held at St. Non’s Retreat Centre in St David’s, Pembrokeshire. This retreat’s theme is Recovery and Forgiveness and our objectives are as follows: 1. to create an environment to promote recovery and healing from alcoholism and other addictive illnesses for the sufferer, their families and friends; 2. to help identify the issues that prevent people from living life to the fullest; and 3. to create positive lifestyles through personal responsibility and the release of emotional baggage. The retreat will be led, as usual, by Colin Macdonald, a much valued friend to the Welsh Council and a member of its Policy Advisory Group. Our next retreat will be held at Trefeca College in the Brecon Beacons National Park from 2nd to 5th December, 2010. Those wishing to attend the December retreat should contact us to book a place as soon as possible via our website: www.welshcouncil.org.uk
The Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs will also have a colourful presence at this year’s National Eisteddfod held in Ebbw Vale from July 31st to August 7th. We’ll be giving out free, non alcoholic drinks from our new Pink bar to all visitors to the Cytûn stand. We’ll also be selling my new book, No Room to Live – a journey from addiction to recovery. Written as a self-help book it's been described as 'hard-hitting and thought-provoking, poignant yet suitably sobering'. The road to recovery is not an easy one. It requires determination and commitment, strength and support. This book is one of many tools available to people to help them rebuild their lives. There is a range of support organisations out there too, including the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs. So while life for sufferers might seem a lonely and depressing place, there is hope, comfort and support.
All proceeds from the sale of No Room to Live (the Welsh Books Council’s book of the month) will be donated towards setting up the free, bilingual day-care rehabilitation centre, The Living Room Cardiff/Yr Ystafell Fyw Caerdydd. Our book is intended, therefore, to help others to rebuild their lives.
But this is only the half of it: as well as assessing service users, offering group therapy and one-to-one counselling sessions, we’re also busy instigated a major research project; setting up an Art Exhibition on the theme of Addiction at the Senedd building in Cardiff Bay from September 21st to 23rd; and on September 25th I fly to America to observe and record peer-based recovery support systems in five US States as part of my 2010 Winston Churchill Fellowship Award. What I learn will hopefully be an adjunct to the services we’ll be providing at The Living Room Cardiff from 2011 onwards. Yes, I think we are justified in describing this as an extraordinarily busy period for our charity!
Sunday, 25 July 2010
Saturday, 3 July 2010
The best kind of exercise in personality health
The Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs welcomes Edwina Hart’s avowed intent to increase alcohol prices in Wales if the Westminster Coalition Government fails to curb problem drinking.
This would be a very encouraging first step in addressing Wales’ current drinking crisis and would, according to compelling evidence, most likely alleviate the symptoms and lead to a reduction in alcoholic deaths.
However, in order to treat the causes of the social malaise of binge drinking we must look at the underlying reasons that are motivating so many of our population to misuse alcohol to such dangerous levels.
When asked why they drink to excess many revellers tend to claim they like being ‘out of it’ or ‘out of themselves’. Why is it that, in this time of unparalleled prosperity and affluence, people are so uncomfortable with themselves and prepared to negate themselves? If this question could be adequately addressed a whole host of real and lasting solutions to our current crisis with alcohol and other drugs would likely present themselves.
The psychotherapist Rollo May argues that one of the main attractions of alcohol is the absence of other means of self expression, that people have no other way of ‘being themselves’ so they choose alcohol to flee from themselves.
I would like to ask the minister to consider how best to create meaningful alternatives to drinking in which young people can learn to be themselves and get satisfaction from it. Mr May has concluded that ‘such social functions would be the best kind of exercise in personality health’.
Any measures to affect pricing will work in the short term but must be allied with long term initiatives to address the underlying cause of problem drinking and produce lasting change.
The Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs would be enthusiastic to support the minister in instigating policies that would lead to people finding satisfaction in being their authentic selves.
This would be a very encouraging first step in addressing Wales’ current drinking crisis and would, according to compelling evidence, most likely alleviate the symptoms and lead to a reduction in alcoholic deaths.
However, in order to treat the causes of the social malaise of binge drinking we must look at the underlying reasons that are motivating so many of our population to misuse alcohol to such dangerous levels.
When asked why they drink to excess many revellers tend to claim they like being ‘out of it’ or ‘out of themselves’. Why is it that, in this time of unparalleled prosperity and affluence, people are so uncomfortable with themselves and prepared to negate themselves? If this question could be adequately addressed a whole host of real and lasting solutions to our current crisis with alcohol and other drugs would likely present themselves.
The psychotherapist Rollo May argues that one of the main attractions of alcohol is the absence of other means of self expression, that people have no other way of ‘being themselves’ so they choose alcohol to flee from themselves.
I would like to ask the minister to consider how best to create meaningful alternatives to drinking in which young people can learn to be themselves and get satisfaction from it. Mr May has concluded that ‘such social functions would be the best kind of exercise in personality health’.
Any measures to affect pricing will work in the short term but must be allied with long term initiatives to address the underlying cause of problem drinking and produce lasting change.
The Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs would be enthusiastic to support the minister in instigating policies that would lead to people finding satisfaction in being their authentic selves.
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
Y Farwnes Finlay i gyflwyno'r ddarlith flynyddol
Bydd ail ddarlith flynyddol Cyngor Cymru ar Alcohol a Chyffuriau Eraill yn cael ei thraddodi gan yr Athro y Farwnes Ilora Finlay o Landaf ddydd Mercher 23ain o Fehefin am 6.30pm yn Ystafell Gynhadledd C a D, Tŷ Hywel, Bae Caerdydd. Bydd bwffe Cymraeg ar gael am 5.30pm yn Oriel y Senedd, Bae Caerdydd.
Fe fydd y ddarlith, How we choose to live and die lives on…, sy’n cael ei llywyddu gan Gareth Jones OBE, AC, a’i chadeirio gan y gyflwynwraig teledu boblogaidd Angharad Mair, yn trin y pwnc llosg help i hunan-ladd.
Mae’r Farwnes Finlay yn Noddwraig i brosiect arloesol y Cyngor, The Living Room Cardiff/Yr Ystafell Fyw Caerdydd. Mae’r Farwnes hefyd wedi ysgrifennu’r rhagair i gyfrol newydd gyhoeddedig Wynford Ellis Owen No Room to Live - llyfr hunan-gymorth a hunangofiant sy’n dilyn brwydr bersonol Ellis Owen gydag alcohol.
Mae Ilora Finlay yn Athro mewn Meddygaeth Liniarol ac wedi gweithio gyda Gofal Canser Marie Curie ers 1987. Roedd hi’n Is Ddeon yn yr Ysgol Feddygaeth, Prifysgol Caerdydd, rhwng Awst 2000 a Hydref 2005. Mae’r Athro Finlay yn Gyn Lywydd y Gymdeithas Feddygaeth Frenhinol. Roedd yn aelod o’r Pwyllgor Cynghori Arbenigol ar Ganser i Brif Swyddogion Meddygol Cymru a Lloegr. Y pwyllgor hwn gynhyrchodd Adroddiad Calman Hine ym 1995. Ar hyn o bryd, mae’n gadeirydd bwrdd gweithredol y strategaeth gofal lliniarol yng Nghymru. Bu’n weithgar yn hybu ‘dyniaethau meddygol’ fel modd ointegreiddio’r celfyddydau i mewn i ystyriaethau gofal iechyd.
Dywedodd Wynford Ellis Owen, Prif Weithredwr Cyngor Cymru ar Alcohol a Chyffuriau Eraill, “Rydyn ni’n falch iawn bod y Farwnes Finlay wedi cytuno i draddodi ein hail ddarlith flynyddol. Mae e’n gyfle gwych i drafod y mater pwysig hwn ac rwy’n gobeithio y bydd llawer o bobl yn dod i wrando ar yr hyn sydd ganddi i’w ddweud.”
“Mae’r Farwnes yn Noddwraig i’n prosiect Yr Ystafell Fyw Caerdydd, y gobeithir ei agor yn 2011. Canolfan driniaeth ddyddiol, ddwyieithog am ddim fydd Yr Ystafell Fyw gyda’r bwriad o dorri cylch dibyniaeth. Mewn amser, gobeithir y bydd y gwasanaeth yn cael ei ymestyn i bob prif dref ar draws Cymru.
“Fe fydd y cysyniad Yr Ystafell Fyw yn chwyldroi y ffordd o drin dibyniaeth ar alcohol a chyffuriau ac ymddygiadau tebyg yng Nghymru. Mae’r pwyslais ar wellhad yn hytrach na rheoli dibyniaeth syml. Mae cael profiad, sgiliau a brwdfrydedd Barwnes Finlay yn gaffaeliad anferth i’r Ystafell Fyw ac rwy’n edrych ymlaen at gydweithio â hi dros y misoedd nesaf i wireddu ein breuddwyd.”
DIWEDD
Am wybodaeth bellach cysylltwch â Rhodri Ellis Owen Cysylltiadau Cyhoeddus Cambrensis ar 029 2025 7075 neu rhodri@cambrensis.uk.com neu ewch i www.cyngorcymru.org.uk.
Mae’r llyfr No Room to Live ar gael i’w brynu yn uniongyrchol o’r Cyngor, drwy ei wefan www.cyngorcymru.org.uk neu drwy www.gwales.com
Fe fydd y ddarlith, How we choose to live and die lives on…, sy’n cael ei llywyddu gan Gareth Jones OBE, AC, a’i chadeirio gan y gyflwynwraig teledu boblogaidd Angharad Mair, yn trin y pwnc llosg help i hunan-ladd.
Mae’r Farwnes Finlay yn Noddwraig i brosiect arloesol y Cyngor, The Living Room Cardiff/Yr Ystafell Fyw Caerdydd. Mae’r Farwnes hefyd wedi ysgrifennu’r rhagair i gyfrol newydd gyhoeddedig Wynford Ellis Owen No Room to Live - llyfr hunan-gymorth a hunangofiant sy’n dilyn brwydr bersonol Ellis Owen gydag alcohol.
Mae Ilora Finlay yn Athro mewn Meddygaeth Liniarol ac wedi gweithio gyda Gofal Canser Marie Curie ers 1987. Roedd hi’n Is Ddeon yn yr Ysgol Feddygaeth, Prifysgol Caerdydd, rhwng Awst 2000 a Hydref 2005. Mae’r Athro Finlay yn Gyn Lywydd y Gymdeithas Feddygaeth Frenhinol. Roedd yn aelod o’r Pwyllgor Cynghori Arbenigol ar Ganser i Brif Swyddogion Meddygol Cymru a Lloegr. Y pwyllgor hwn gynhyrchodd Adroddiad Calman Hine ym 1995. Ar hyn o bryd, mae’n gadeirydd bwrdd gweithredol y strategaeth gofal lliniarol yng Nghymru. Bu’n weithgar yn hybu ‘dyniaethau meddygol’ fel modd ointegreiddio’r celfyddydau i mewn i ystyriaethau gofal iechyd.
Dywedodd Wynford Ellis Owen, Prif Weithredwr Cyngor Cymru ar Alcohol a Chyffuriau Eraill, “Rydyn ni’n falch iawn bod y Farwnes Finlay wedi cytuno i draddodi ein hail ddarlith flynyddol. Mae e’n gyfle gwych i drafod y mater pwysig hwn ac rwy’n gobeithio y bydd llawer o bobl yn dod i wrando ar yr hyn sydd ganddi i’w ddweud.”
“Mae’r Farwnes yn Noddwraig i’n prosiect Yr Ystafell Fyw Caerdydd, y gobeithir ei agor yn 2011. Canolfan driniaeth ddyddiol, ddwyieithog am ddim fydd Yr Ystafell Fyw gyda’r bwriad o dorri cylch dibyniaeth. Mewn amser, gobeithir y bydd y gwasanaeth yn cael ei ymestyn i bob prif dref ar draws Cymru.
“Fe fydd y cysyniad Yr Ystafell Fyw yn chwyldroi y ffordd o drin dibyniaeth ar alcohol a chyffuriau ac ymddygiadau tebyg yng Nghymru. Mae’r pwyslais ar wellhad yn hytrach na rheoli dibyniaeth syml. Mae cael profiad, sgiliau a brwdfrydedd Barwnes Finlay yn gaffaeliad anferth i’r Ystafell Fyw ac rwy’n edrych ymlaen at gydweithio â hi dros y misoedd nesaf i wireddu ein breuddwyd.”
DIWEDD
Am wybodaeth bellach cysylltwch â Rhodri Ellis Owen Cysylltiadau Cyhoeddus Cambrensis ar 029 2025 7075 neu rhodri@cambrensis.uk.com neu ewch i www.cyngorcymru.org.uk.
Mae’r llyfr No Room to Live ar gael i’w brynu yn uniongyrchol o’r Cyngor, drwy ei wefan www.cyngorcymru.org.uk neu drwy www.gwales.com
Thursday, 10 June 2010
Baroness Finlay to deliver annual lecture
The second annual Welsh Council on Alcohol and other Drugs lecture will be delivered by Professor Baroness Ilora Finlay of Llandaff on Wednesday 23rd June at 6.30pm at Conference Room C&D, Tŷ Hywel, Cardiff Bay. A Welsh buffet will be provided on arrival at 5.30pm at Oriel y Senedd, Cardiff Bay.
The lecture, How we choose to live and die lives on…, hosted by Gareth Jones OBE, AM, and chaired by Angharad Mair, the popular television personality, will discuss the controversial topic of assisted suicide.
Baroness Finlay is Patron of the Council’s groundbreaking project The Living Room Cardiff/Yr Ystafell Fyw Caerdydd. The Baroness has also written the foreword to Wynford Ellis Owen’s newly published book No Room to Live - a self help book and autobiography which follows Ellis Owen’s personal battle with alcoholism.
Baroness Finlay is a Professor of Palliative Medicine and has worked with Marie Curie Cancer Care since 1987. She was Vice Dean in the School of Medicine, Cardiff University, between August 2000 and October 2005 and is the immediate past-President at the Royal Society of Medicine. She was a member of the Expert Advisory Committee on Cancers to the Chief Medical Officers of England and Wales, producing the Calman Hine Report in 1995. She currently chairs the implementation board for the palliative care strategy in Wales. She has been actively involved in promoting ‘medical humanities’ integrating the arts into health care thinking.
Wynford Ellis Owen, Chief Executive of the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs, said, “We are delighted that Baroness Finlay has accepted our invitation to come and deliver our second annual lecture. It’s a great opportunity to debate this important issue and I hope many people will come to hear what she has to say.
“The Baroness is Patron of our Living Room Cardiff project, which we hope to open in 2011. It is a free, bilingual day-care rehabilitation centre in the capital which aims to break the cycle of addiction and in time, we hope to extend the service to all major towns throughout Wales.
“The Living Room concept will revolutionize the treatment of alcohol and drug dependence and other addictive behaviours in Wales. The emphasis will be on recovery rather than simple addiction management. Having the experience, skills and enthusiasm of Baroness Finlay is a tremendous coup for the Living Room and I look forward to working with her over the months to come to make the centre a reality.”
ENDS
For further information please contact Rhodri Ellis Owen at Cambrensis Communications on 029 2025 7075 or rhodri@cambrensis.uk.com or go to www.welshcouncil.org.uk.
Notes to Editors
No Room to Live is available to purchase directly from the Council, via their website www.welshcouncil.org.uk, and from www.gwales.com.
The lecture, How we choose to live and die lives on…, hosted by Gareth Jones OBE, AM, and chaired by Angharad Mair, the popular television personality, will discuss the controversial topic of assisted suicide.
Baroness Finlay is Patron of the Council’s groundbreaking project The Living Room Cardiff/Yr Ystafell Fyw Caerdydd. The Baroness has also written the foreword to Wynford Ellis Owen’s newly published book No Room to Live - a self help book and autobiography which follows Ellis Owen’s personal battle with alcoholism.
Baroness Finlay is a Professor of Palliative Medicine and has worked with Marie Curie Cancer Care since 1987. She was Vice Dean in the School of Medicine, Cardiff University, between August 2000 and October 2005 and is the immediate past-President at the Royal Society of Medicine. She was a member of the Expert Advisory Committee on Cancers to the Chief Medical Officers of England and Wales, producing the Calman Hine Report in 1995. She currently chairs the implementation board for the palliative care strategy in Wales. She has been actively involved in promoting ‘medical humanities’ integrating the arts into health care thinking.
Wynford Ellis Owen, Chief Executive of the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs, said, “We are delighted that Baroness Finlay has accepted our invitation to come and deliver our second annual lecture. It’s a great opportunity to debate this important issue and I hope many people will come to hear what she has to say.
“The Baroness is Patron of our Living Room Cardiff project, which we hope to open in 2011. It is a free, bilingual day-care rehabilitation centre in the capital which aims to break the cycle of addiction and in time, we hope to extend the service to all major towns throughout Wales.
“The Living Room concept will revolutionize the treatment of alcohol and drug dependence and other addictive behaviours in Wales. The emphasis will be on recovery rather than simple addiction management. Having the experience, skills and enthusiasm of Baroness Finlay is a tremendous coup for the Living Room and I look forward to working with her over the months to come to make the centre a reality.”
ENDS
For further information please contact Rhodri Ellis Owen at Cambrensis Communications on 029 2025 7075 or rhodri@cambrensis.uk.com or go to www.welshcouncil.org.uk.
Notes to Editors
No Room to Live is available to purchase directly from the Council, via their website www.welshcouncil.org.uk, and from www.gwales.com.
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
No Room to Live - a Sobering Experience
Popular Welsh actor Wynford Ellis Owen’s first ever English language book, No Room to Live, was launched last night at The Temple of Peace, Cardiff. Written as a self-help book, it’s hard-hitting and thought-provoking, poignant yet suitably sobering.
Hosting the launch was popular TV presenter Angharad Mair while actors Mark Lewis Jones, whose TV appearances include 55 Degrees North, Bench and Con Passionate, and John Pierce Jones, famous for playing Mr Picton in S4C’s C’mon Midffild read passages from the book. Musical entertainment was provided by violinist Heulwen Thomas and The Bethlehem Chapel Quartet.
It was his successful Welsh language autobiography, Raslas Bach a Mawr, published in 2005, which gave Ellis Owen the initial idea to adapt the publication for an English audience. However No Room to Live has since developed to be far more than an autobiography of the actor’s life and his personal battle with alcoholism.
As chief executive of the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs and a qualified addictions councillor, Ellis Owen has turned his experiences around and in doing so he saw the need for a self-help book with a difference. No Room to Live took shape and it will be essential reading for people and families struggling to cope with the plague of modern day society – alcoholism and dependency on drugs in its many guises.
A self-help book it may be, but given Ellis Owen’s engaging narrative style, it makes compelling reading. The narrative is based on anecdotes - some comical, some serious – influenced by the author’s own experiences. As a well-known and respected actor, Ellis Owen’s addiction to alcohol shook the foundations of Welsh society, especially for those who associated him as the character Syr Wynff ap Concord y Bos in the ground-breaking children’s TV programme, Teliffant, of the 1970s.
No Room to Live will retail at £11.95, with all proceeds being donated to a new charity established by the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs, called The Living Room Cardiff/Yr Ystafell Fyw Caerdydd. This brand new charitable venture aims to set up a free, bilingual day-care rehabilitation centre in the capital to help people break the cycle of addiction. In time, the service will be extended to all major towns throughout Wales.
Ellis Owen’s success in beating his addiction and regaining his reputation in Welsh life, both on and off screen, put him in a unique position to write this self-help book.
Ellis Owen explains, “Alcoholism and dependency on drugs, both prescription and illicit, ruin lives. It’s a slippery slope into despair and despondency. You risk losing everything, your self-respect, your home, your family. I know because I’ve been there. My book, No Room to Live, focuses on how to regain control of life and find happiness once again.
“The road to recovery is not an easy one. It requires determination and commitment, strength and support. My book is one of many tools available to people to help them rebuild their lives. There is a range of support organisations out there too, including the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs. So while life for sufferers might seem a lonely and depressing place, there is hope, comfort and support.
“I’m delighted to reveal that all proceeds from my book will be donated towards setting up a free, bilingual day-care rehabilitation centre in Cardiff. The Living Room Cardiff/Yr Ystafell Fyw Caerdydd, will offer help for anyone experiencing difficulties relating to alcohol, drugs (prescribed or illicit), or any other dependency, such as eating disorders, love and sex addiction, gambling and self-harm. My book is intended, therefore, to help others to rebuild their lives.”
Actor Mark Lewis Jones commented, “It was a pleasure to support my fellow actor Wynford Ellis Owen as he launched his first ever English language book and an honour for me to be reading passages from his work at the event.
“No Room to Live depicts Wynford’s recovery from alcoholism and tells of his struggle to face his demons. It is written as a self-help book and I’m sure it will be an inspiration to others who find themselves trapped to an addiction of one kind or another. The book is testament to the fact that there is light and hope at the end of the tunnel.”
Actor John Pierce Jones, added, “It takes great courage to write a book like this and I was delighted to support Wynford as he launched No Room to Live. It’s an absorbing account of Wynford’s journey from addiction to recovery, told with warmth and humour.
“The book is positive and inspiring, and makes recovery a reality for even more people across the UK and beyond. It reaches out to alcoholics, addicts, their families and provides them with new hope that there is a way out of one of the most invidious illnesses known to mankind.”
From May 2010, the publication No Room to Live will be available to purchase directly from the Council, via their website www.welshcouncil.org.uk, and from www.gwales.com.
ENDS
For further information please contact Rhodri Ellis Owen at Cambrensis Communications on 029 2025 7075 or rhodri@cambrensis.uk.com or go to www.welshcouncil.org.uk.
Notes to Editors
*The Living Room Cardiff/Yr Ystafell Fyw Caerdydd, is based on the ‘Living Room’ concept operational at 8 - 10 The Glebe, Chills Way, Stevenage SG2 0DJ. A registered charity: No. 1080634, more information can be accessed at www.thelivingroom.me.uk. Janis Feely (its Director and Founder) will advise, act as consultant to the Cardiff venture, and be responsible for all staff training.
Hosting the launch was popular TV presenter Angharad Mair while actors Mark Lewis Jones, whose TV appearances include 55 Degrees North, Bench and Con Passionate, and John Pierce Jones, famous for playing Mr Picton in S4C’s C’mon Midffild read passages from the book. Musical entertainment was provided by violinist Heulwen Thomas and The Bethlehem Chapel Quartet.
It was his successful Welsh language autobiography, Raslas Bach a Mawr, published in 2005, which gave Ellis Owen the initial idea to adapt the publication for an English audience. However No Room to Live has since developed to be far more than an autobiography of the actor’s life and his personal battle with alcoholism.
As chief executive of the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs and a qualified addictions councillor, Ellis Owen has turned his experiences around and in doing so he saw the need for a self-help book with a difference. No Room to Live took shape and it will be essential reading for people and families struggling to cope with the plague of modern day society – alcoholism and dependency on drugs in its many guises.
A self-help book it may be, but given Ellis Owen’s engaging narrative style, it makes compelling reading. The narrative is based on anecdotes - some comical, some serious – influenced by the author’s own experiences. As a well-known and respected actor, Ellis Owen’s addiction to alcohol shook the foundations of Welsh society, especially for those who associated him as the character Syr Wynff ap Concord y Bos in the ground-breaking children’s TV programme, Teliffant, of the 1970s.
No Room to Live will retail at £11.95, with all proceeds being donated to a new charity established by the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs, called The Living Room Cardiff/Yr Ystafell Fyw Caerdydd. This brand new charitable venture aims to set up a free, bilingual day-care rehabilitation centre in the capital to help people break the cycle of addiction. In time, the service will be extended to all major towns throughout Wales.
Ellis Owen’s success in beating his addiction and regaining his reputation in Welsh life, both on and off screen, put him in a unique position to write this self-help book.
Ellis Owen explains, “Alcoholism and dependency on drugs, both prescription and illicit, ruin lives. It’s a slippery slope into despair and despondency. You risk losing everything, your self-respect, your home, your family. I know because I’ve been there. My book, No Room to Live, focuses on how to regain control of life and find happiness once again.
“The road to recovery is not an easy one. It requires determination and commitment, strength and support. My book is one of many tools available to people to help them rebuild their lives. There is a range of support organisations out there too, including the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs. So while life for sufferers might seem a lonely and depressing place, there is hope, comfort and support.
“I’m delighted to reveal that all proceeds from my book will be donated towards setting up a free, bilingual day-care rehabilitation centre in Cardiff. The Living Room Cardiff/Yr Ystafell Fyw Caerdydd, will offer help for anyone experiencing difficulties relating to alcohol, drugs (prescribed or illicit), or any other dependency, such as eating disorders, love and sex addiction, gambling and self-harm. My book is intended, therefore, to help others to rebuild their lives.”
Actor Mark Lewis Jones commented, “It was a pleasure to support my fellow actor Wynford Ellis Owen as he launched his first ever English language book and an honour for me to be reading passages from his work at the event.
“No Room to Live depicts Wynford’s recovery from alcoholism and tells of his struggle to face his demons. It is written as a self-help book and I’m sure it will be an inspiration to others who find themselves trapped to an addiction of one kind or another. The book is testament to the fact that there is light and hope at the end of the tunnel.”
Actor John Pierce Jones, added, “It takes great courage to write a book like this and I was delighted to support Wynford as he launched No Room to Live. It’s an absorbing account of Wynford’s journey from addiction to recovery, told with warmth and humour.
“The book is positive and inspiring, and makes recovery a reality for even more people across the UK and beyond. It reaches out to alcoholics, addicts, their families and provides them with new hope that there is a way out of one of the most invidious illnesses known to mankind.”
From May 2010, the publication No Room to Live will be available to purchase directly from the Council, via their website www.welshcouncil.org.uk, and from www.gwales.com.
ENDS
For further information please contact Rhodri Ellis Owen at Cambrensis Communications on 029 2025 7075 or rhodri@cambrensis.uk.com or go to www.welshcouncil.org.uk.
Notes to Editors
*The Living Room Cardiff/Yr Ystafell Fyw Caerdydd, is based on the ‘Living Room’ concept operational at 8 - 10 The Glebe, Chills Way, Stevenage SG2 0DJ. A registered charity: No. 1080634, more information can be accessed at www.thelivingroom.me.uk. Janis Feely (its Director and Founder) will advise, act as consultant to the Cardiff venture, and be responsible for all staff training.
Friday, 14 May 2010
New thinking on addiction recovery focuses on honesty and openness to combat wall of shame and stigma
As a new self-help book on addiction, No Room to Live, is launched next week, its author and chief executive of the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs, Wynford Ellis Owen has come out in support of the UK Recovery Foundation’s (UKRF) aim to make recovery from alcohol and drug dependency a reality for many more people across the UK. The author himself has been very public about his recovery and believes too many people in a similar position to himself have tended to hide their recoveries from addiction - thus perpetuating the secrecy and shame of it all.
The UK substance misuse field is currently experiencing change on a profound level, mirroring significant changes within society as the political, social and financial landscape shifts and adapts to challenging new priorities and agendas. However, according to the UKRF there needs to be a major change in how society helps people overcome substance misuse and related problems. These recovery solutions should focus on the individuals themselves as honesty, self awareness and openness lie at the heart of healthy recovery movements.
Ellis Owen believes, as does UKRF, that it is only by ‘coming out’ can the wall of shame and stigma be broken down, as it is this which keeps people from finding their route to recovery. The signs are encouraging as the first UK Recovery March was held in Liverpool in 2009 and will be followed by a similar march, the UK Recovery Walk, in Glasgow in September. The first UK recovery Federation conference was held in Preston in May 2010 and affirmed that there were tens of thousands of men and women across the UK who were ready to speak out about their recovery experiences.
Wynford Ellis Owen, said, “In America alcoholism is regarded as a disease. In this country, however it is still regarded as a disgrace. We can all work together to change that perception by making our recoveries more visible. After all, is there a family anywhere in the country that hasn’t in some way been affected by the misuse of alcohol or drugs?
“People in recovery can offer hope to a world whose people are becoming increasingly dependent on alcohol and other substances. They can reach out to alcoholics, addicts, their families – providing them with new hope – and educating policy makers. People can begin this important advocacy work by talking with each other or friends or neighbours about their recoveries and what it means to them. It is not easy, but as people become more comfortable, they can expand their audience.”
No Room To Live will be launched at The Temple of Peace in Cardiff at 18.30 on Monday 17 May. The book depicts Ellis Owen’s own battle with alcoholism and offers hope and advice for others struggling to cope with alcoholism and addiction in its many guises.
Ellis Owen’s engaging narrative style makes compelling reading. The narrative is based on anecdotes - some comical, some serious – drawn from the author’s own experiences. Ellis Owen’s success in beating his addiction and regaining his reputation in Welsh life, both on and off screen, has put him in a unique position to write this self-help book. All proceeds from the book will be donated towards setting up a free, bilingual day-care rehabilitation centre in Cardiff. This unique project, known as “The Living Room Cardiff/Yr Ystafell Fyw Caerdydd” is in its infancy and, once up and running, will offer help for anyone experiencing difficulties relating to alcohol, drugs (prescribed or illicit), or any other dependency, such as eating disorders, sex addiction, gambling and self-harm.
The UK substance misuse field is currently experiencing change on a profound level, mirroring significant changes within society as the political, social and financial landscape shifts and adapts to challenging new priorities and agendas. However, according to the UKRF there needs to be a major change in how society helps people overcome substance misuse and related problems. These recovery solutions should focus on the individuals themselves as honesty, self awareness and openness lie at the heart of healthy recovery movements.
Ellis Owen believes, as does UKRF, that it is only by ‘coming out’ can the wall of shame and stigma be broken down, as it is this which keeps people from finding their route to recovery. The signs are encouraging as the first UK Recovery March was held in Liverpool in 2009 and will be followed by a similar march, the UK Recovery Walk, in Glasgow in September. The first UK recovery Federation conference was held in Preston in May 2010 and affirmed that there were tens of thousands of men and women across the UK who were ready to speak out about their recovery experiences.
Wynford Ellis Owen, said, “In America alcoholism is regarded as a disease. In this country, however it is still regarded as a disgrace. We can all work together to change that perception by making our recoveries more visible. After all, is there a family anywhere in the country that hasn’t in some way been affected by the misuse of alcohol or drugs?
“People in recovery can offer hope to a world whose people are becoming increasingly dependent on alcohol and other substances. They can reach out to alcoholics, addicts, their families – providing them with new hope – and educating policy makers. People can begin this important advocacy work by talking with each other or friends or neighbours about their recoveries and what it means to them. It is not easy, but as people become more comfortable, they can expand their audience.”
No Room To Live will be launched at The Temple of Peace in Cardiff at 18.30 on Monday 17 May. The book depicts Ellis Owen’s own battle with alcoholism and offers hope and advice for others struggling to cope with alcoholism and addiction in its many guises.
Ellis Owen’s engaging narrative style makes compelling reading. The narrative is based on anecdotes - some comical, some serious – drawn from the author’s own experiences. Ellis Owen’s success in beating his addiction and regaining his reputation in Welsh life, both on and off screen, has put him in a unique position to write this self-help book. All proceeds from the book will be donated towards setting up a free, bilingual day-care rehabilitation centre in Cardiff. This unique project, known as “The Living Room Cardiff/Yr Ystafell Fyw Caerdydd” is in its infancy and, once up and running, will offer help for anyone experiencing difficulties relating to alcohol, drugs (prescribed or illicit), or any other dependency, such as eating disorders, sex addiction, gambling and self-harm.
Saturday, 8 May 2010
UKRF Conference and a definition of Recovery
I co-facilitated a workshop with Brendan Georgeson treatment coordinator of Walsingham Houise in Bristol, on 'Regional Representation & Recovery' at the brilliant UK Recovery Federation Conference in Preston yesterday (7th May, 2010). Rowdy Tates and Mark Gilman were inspirational speakers and got everyone going. Let's tell the world about the wonder of Recovery I say!
Thanks to Michaela, Anne-Marie and Alistair for arranging the do.
Read a fine definition of Recover in The Little Red Book this morning: 'Recovery' it said is when 'we attain spiritual strength, understanding, humility, emotional stability, peace of mind and contented sobriet'. Amen I say.
Thanks to Michaela, Anne-Marie and Alistair for arranging the do.
Read a fine definition of Recover in The Little Red Book this morning: 'Recovery' it said is when 'we attain spiritual strength, understanding, humility, emotional stability, peace of mind and contented sobriet'. Amen I say.
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