"TEEN REHAB SLAIN BY STATE ORTHODOXY AND TARGET TYRANNY"

"I would be dead without Middlegate," a 17-year old former resident of Middlegate told Kathy Gyngell. "I had nowhere to go psychologically, no future. I needed to be shown that my life would be better without drugs. That is what the therapist here did. I had never experienced happiness without drugs before."

It is an ironic tragedy that, only since the UK got a national adolescent treatment policy, did Middlegate - the country's only teen residential rehab - begin to struggle.

Last week it gave up the ghost and closed.

Up until 2004, it was full and had waiting lists. But then (pre 2002) its funding for drug addicted young people came from local Social Services. With the advent of New Labour's barrage of primary care trusts, children's services, adolescent drug services and youth offending teams, this all changed. The funding, and the will to find it, evaporated...

Read Kathy Gyngell's full blog at the Centre for Policy Studies here.

Comments

[julie]

To Alison and all the other wounderful staff.
Well for once im lost for words, i am so sorry to hear what has happpened i just cant imagine how you lot must be feeling right now but i can only stress that in my heart there is a piece that is missing like the sky with no stars or Al with out her choclate lol No hope. And Al the young people that really need you probabley dont know they need you and if they did then can not find you. The thing that makes me the sadest is that i didnt get to say goodbye and i do not wish to xxx Potter

[Frugal Dougal]

This makes me so angry: rehabs for young people are exactly what we need!

And that's not the only part of governmental drug policy in disarray. Because DAATs get twice the amount of funding for Problematic Drug Users than for people not committing crimes, many drug-users are effectively criminalised for being otherwise law-abiding. (It applies to many class A drug users, but I'm thinking of cannabis users who smell the roses in their 40's and try to work out what they've done of substance in the intervening 20+ years.

[ALISON QUINN]

This is to all the young people we have cared for over the years along with their family and supporters we will miss you deeply. I know that in everybody that has come through our doors that Middlegate will be in their hearts, helping them to make better choices and live a healthier life. Remember we might not be there but we have the memories that each and every young person gave to us. Make good choices. xxxx

[Bobby]

This is really sad. Whenever a facility closes that has been helpful to people overcome their addiction everyone looses. For people in the UK it is especially sad. Teenagers have specific needs for their age group and having one facility able to focus on these needs I am sure was very effective. Hopefully another facility for the rehabilitation of teenage addicts will open up soon.