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Policy
HRB evidence brief on the response of drug services to Covid-19
by Brian Galvin and Deirdre Mongan
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Gender and drug policy
by Lucy Dillon

The mission of the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe is to contribute to the development of multidisciplinary, innovative, effective and evidence-based drug policies in its member states.1 Since the late 1980s, it has worked to support the integration of a gender dimension into drug policies and has delivered on a number of activities in this area of policy.2 The group is currently running a project on implementing a gender approach in different drug policy areas: from prevention, care, and treatment services to law enforcement and the criminal justice system. It is based on an understanding that the gender dimension includes women, men, transgender, and intersex people. The Irish team taking part in this project is made up of representatives from academia, the Department of Health, and drug services.3 As part of their work, they published a paper on gender and Irish drug policy in April 2020.4

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Launch of UBU Your Place Your Space
by Lucy Dillon

UBU Your Place Your Space is a new, targeted youth-funding scheme launched by the then Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone TD, in December 2019.1 It targets young people who are marginalised, disadvantaged, or vulnerable, and aims to provide services that support them. These include services that cover health, education, employment, and social connectedness. It combines four pre-existing overlapping schemes, including the Young People’s Facilities and Services Fund and the local drug task force projects. The scheme explicitly supports the delivery of action 1.2.8 in the National Drugs Strategy: to improve services for young people at risk of substance misuse in socially and economically disadvantaged communities.2

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In brief
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