families struggling with substance abuse.

That was the message from famed Rhythm and Blues singer turned community activist Dionne Warwick at a "Bridging the Gap'' forum hosted by the Healing Families Group.

More than 100 people attended the forum at CedarBridge Academy on Saturday.

The Healing Families group is a joint effort by the Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse and the Family Learning Centre.

There were four workshops for participants dealing with issues like the impact of history and culture on substance abuse and families and youth issues.

Also discussed were education and family issues and community resources.

The forum also featured testimonials and an opening prayer by Health and Family Services Minister Nelson Bascome who said parents must be more aware of what children see and how abuse affects them.

Mr. Bascome encouraged attendees to spend more time with their children and to be very aware of the distractions and issues facing families.

Each workshop was required to answer the main issues identified by their group that show the negative effects of substance abuse and give recommendations to help families struggling with abuse.

Some issues identified include: stigmatisation and labelling; isolation of the identified person; community and family denial; a lack of consumer focused care; and our inability to communicate love.

The workshop participants recommended 17 solutions to these and other issues including; more family support and education, a focused public relations campaign, coalition building, and teaching the importance of teaching unconditional love.

Key note speaker Cathi Coridan reminded everyone that all need to look at the many ways coalitions are built particularly through education, Police, and faith communities.

She encouraged people concerned about substance abuse to build coalitions with groups they may not have had contact with and challenged them to develop solutions together.

Cathy Belvedere, co-chair of the Healing Families group, said the day's events were a success and called it "just a beginning'' in the fight against substance abuse.

"It's about all of us giving these people support for all their needs. We need to make everyone realise this is the number one issue,'' she said.

Her co-chair Martha Dismont added: "As a group we will be taking all this information and making a report that will be available to the various anti-drug and alcohol groups in the Island. We want them to be informed.'' Healing Families will hold a follow-up meeting with the steering committee and participants on April 15 to design the next step for the group.

The meeting will be held at the Stables Building on Reid Street at 5.30 p.m.

In harmony: Singer and community activist Dionne Warwick (left) and anti-drugs co-ordinator Cathi Corridan, who both spoke at the Healing Families Forum at CedarBridge Academy on Saturday.

DRUGS DGS