At the event, His Royal Highness was welcomed by Colonel Hall, Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London, the Mayor of Redbridge Councillor Mrs Joyce Ryan, Rabbi Sufrin, Executive Director of Drugsline, Lee Scott MP, Leader of Redbridge Council Alan Weinberg and Roger Hampson Chief Executive of London Borough of Redbridge Council.
HRH also met with Drugsline staff and volunteers as well as children from the Chabad nursery, which operates under the same roof. Rabbi Sufrin introduced HRH to Imam Haroon Rashid Patel, one of the collaborators of the recently launched ‘Joining the Loop’ partnership, the only service in the UK to offer multi-lingual drugs support services specifically tailored for the needs of the Jewish and Muslim communities.
After touring the new extension with Rabbi Sufrin, The Earl was welcomed back to the hall to officially unveil the plaque for the new building, and present HRH with a Menorah. Rabbi Sufrin commented:
“I am humbled and honoured to welcome HRH to our centre. It marks a milestone in our 16-year history and sets the tone for the future. The Royal family represents hope, and this Menorah too symbolises a historic and ongoing battle of darkness versus light and the fight against addiction, in whatever form it may be.”
The Earl of Wessex said:
“Thank you to everyone for allowing me to hear first hand what you have been doing at Drugsline and sharing with me your ambitious plan for the future. I wish you all the very best of luck.”
Darren Gold, Drugsline’s Outreach Team Leader, showed HRH the realistic ‘drug kits’ his team use to aid their unique education programme and then addressed HRH and the guests, explaining his own history with drugs.
“When I was an addict, stealing from my friends and family, I wish I had been able to turn to Drugsline. I have been in recovery for 9 years and when I started working at Drugsline in 2004, there were only two Schools workers including myself. We visited 12,000 school children that year; but this academic year the figure is already approaching 30,000 – and our target for next year is 50,000.”
Darren then introduced Lisa Sharman, a pupil at Wanstead High School where the Drugsline Outreach team regularly visit.
“I think Drugsline is a really important service; it is a lifeline for loads of kids. It is so good to see Drugsline honoured with a royal visit, and I know they will carry on offering a very effective service.”
