Webinar: Session 2: Alcohol Race Alliance

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About This Webinar

Welcome to this on demand pre recorded session for the NHS APA 2021 Virtual Conference.

In this session Danny Hames, NHS APA Chair interviews Sohan Sahota, Managing Director & Co-founder of BAC-IN CIC a grassroots, peer drug and alcohol recovery support service which supports people from black, south asian and minoritised communities.

Sohan recounts his lived experience of addiction, stigma and cultural shame. He directly addresses the issues regarding under-representation of people from BAME communities in services, commissioning and policy making and explains how urgent action is needed to re-address this.

The session will conclude at approximately 10.45am.

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Presenters

Sohan Sahota

Managing Director & Co-founder of BAC-IN CIC

BAC-IN CIC is a Nottingham based, peer-led drug & alcohol support service for individuals, families and young adults from Black, South Asian and Minorities Communities. An award winning, grassroots service inspired and founded in 2003 by BAME individuals in recovery. The BAC-IN approach to recovery is holistic, adaptable, culturally sensitive and inclusive, enabling individuals to access support with addiction recovery, mental health and additional well-being services.

BAC-IN offers an alternative to mainstream service provision which acknowledges diversity, values difference and embraces a choice of cultural, faith-based and spiritual perspectives to addiction recovery and rehabilitation. The essence of lived experience, addiction recovery and cultural expertise is at the heart of BAC-IN’s guiding philosophy, organisational principles and service delivery.

He is also a BACP Accredited Counsellor/Psychotherapist, experienced in the fields of drug/alcohol addictions, abstinence based recovery, 12 step model, BAME mental health, culturally specific interventions, cultural competence training, clinical supervision and research.

For the past 20 years Sohan has been proactive in promoting and championing recovery, lived experience and lived experience leadership within BAME communities across the UK. He has been a guest speaker at many addiction recovery and rehabilitation events across the UK.

Danny Hames

NHS APA Chair

Danny Hames has 18 years’ experience working in the public and voluntary sectors, within criminal justice, long terms conditions and the drug and alcohol treatment sector. He has worked as a Practitioner, Operational manager and Head of Development.

In September 2018 he became the Head of Inclusion which is part of the Midlands NHS Foundation Partnership Trust. Inclusion is the largest NHS provider of drug and alcohol services in England working in both prisons and the community. Inclusion also provides Sexual Health and Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services.

Danny initiated and is a founding member of the NHS Addictions Provider Alliance which was founded in 2016, this is a collaboration of thirteen NHS trusts who provide drug and alcohol treatment services with the aim of supporting and developing best practice in the
sector, this included, with Collective Voice, “Improving Clinical Responses to Drug Related Deaths Best Practice Guidelines (April 2017)”.

The NHS APA also aims to provide an NHS treatment service voice to the benefit of the sector and as part of this runs annual conferences. The NHS APA currently work in over 50 prisons and 35 community services across England. NHS APA is currently establishing an initiative across 12 NHS trusts in England to eliminate Hepatitis C. Danny is the current chair of the NHS APA.