Sarah Wright and Leigh Harvey: Open Road

This was our first meeting for nearly a year back at our usual venue, the Ivy Hill Hotel. We were able to meet face-to-face in a relaxed atmosphere and enjoy a very nice lunch. 1st Vice President Mo took the opportunity to invest 2nd Vice President John with his collar of office (see picture) as this had not been possible at the Handover Meeting owing to a certain person having forgotten to bring it!

Open Road is President Peter’s chosen charity for his Presidential year. We had two speakers from that organisation, Sarah Wright and Leigh Harvey.

Open Road works to help those suffering from addictions to alcohol and drugs. They offer a complete rehabilitation programme. Neither alcoholics nor those addicted to opiates can stop immediately. The reduction of alcohol has to be controlled to prevent adverse physical reactions. Opium addicts can be offered alternative prescription drugs as a first step.

Counselling and other support is available. Open Road has a consultant psychiatrist to whom it can make referrals if necessary.

Next year Open Road will celebrate 30 years of operation in Chelmsford. Leigh, who is in charge of the Chelmsford branch, told us about some of the things happening here. She said most problems come from alcohol and cocaine, cocaine being the drug of choice for those with “high flyer” careers.

Chelmsford has a number of “drug lines” selling drugs to addicts. Each one operates along a geographical line. For each line there is a telephone number users can phone to get their drugs. The dealer then phones one of the pushers along the line to deliver the drugs to the user at an agreed place. There are sometimes turf wars between different drug lines as one tries to move into another’s territory.

Thanks to Open Road, the story is not all doom and gloom. Leigh showed us a video containing messages of appreciation from former alcoholics and drug addicts the charity has helped to return to a more sustainable lifestyle.