Our events are opportunities for Friends to meet for mutual support and to deepen our understanding of harm and hope relating to substance use and gambling.

Details of future events will be available on this page and in QAADRANT. If you would like to be added to the events contact list, please forward your details to Alison Mather. If you would be interested in holding a QAADNET meeting for their Local or Area Meeting, please call or email Alison to discuss this further.

SAVE THE DATE!

QAAD CONFERENCE: THE POWER OF TRUTH –

BREAKING THROUGH STIGMA, LETTING IN THE LIGHT

Friday 5th – Sunday 7th July, Launde Abbey, East Norton, LE7 9XB

Dependent behaviours imprison people with their pain and despair through stigma, guilt and shame. Whether alcohol, other drugs or gambling, the effect on individuals and those close to them is the same. To the outside world, many people privately affected in this way can appear strong, productive, resilient. Behind closed doors, the prospect of breaking through the silence, even with friends and family, can feel insurmountable.

Our theme for this year’s conference is the power of talking openly about our experiences. Trusting that if we can find the  courage to speak honestly, we can help to overcome stigma, thereby helping others to do the same. It is also about the essential need to listen and respond without prejudice or judgement. To meet the darkness with the Light.

QAAD conferences provide a safe, confidential space to share our insights, inspiration and concerns. Over the course of the weekend, there will be a choice of activities designed to develop our understanding and help us all to reflect on ways ahead. In particular, we will consider how, as Friends, we can respond with compassion – when and wherever we encounter these problems, including within our Meetings. We hope you will join us, whatever your experience and interests. We are looking forward to seeing familiar faces once again, and to welcoming Friends who will be with us for the first time. Further details, including the full programme and travel advice, will be available shortly.  

The cost of attendance is £270.00 which includes full board and accommodation.

The conference is a nominating event and Friends can contact their Area Meeting to request being funded as the Meeting’s representative. If you would prefer to book independently, QAAD may partially fund your place, depending on circumstances, to ensure that every Friend who would like to attend can do so. Please contact Alison Mather who can advise you further.

Please complete the booking form and post or email this to Alison Mather by Friday 31^st May

We may be able to accept bookings after this date, depending on availability, and there will be a waiting list in case of cancellations.

WHAT ARE QAADNET MEETINGS?

QAADNET meetings have a theme, and sometimes a speaker, and are open to all interested Friends. In particular, they provide support for those personally affected by harm resulting from substance use or gambling.

We cover a wide range of subjects, reflecting the interests and concerns of those attending, for example: personal experience; spiritual upholding; counselling; criminal justice; homelessness; residential treatment; medical settings; day-care; employment/ training; education; working with young Friends – and young Friends themselves.

Click here to read an article which gives an insight into the character of a QAADNET meeting.

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Past Events – recordings and details

‘Among Us’  Cardiff Meeting House    10th February

This was our first in-person QAADNET meeting in 2024, and the first we have held in Wales. Our opening speaker, Andrew Misell (Cardiff LM and QAAD Trustee) is the Director for Wales at Alcohol Change UK. He talked about the need for Quakers to consider the experience of Friends affected by alcohol, drug and/or gambling problems, and how we might respond with greater compassion and understanding within and beyond our Meetings.

During the day, several Friends spoke very movingly of how deeply they and family members had been affected, and also what had given them the strength and resilience they needed to recover. We considered how young people often find it very difficult to talk about such problems outside the home, leaving them trying to cope alone. We also shared our views on the complexities of drug  decriminalisation, acknowledging that there were strong and varied opinions among us.

‘Yn Ein Plith’  Tŷ Cwrdd Caerdydd    10^fed Chwefror

Hwn fydd ein cyfarfod QAADNET wyneb-yn-wyneb cyntaf yn 2024, a’r un cyntaf i ni ei gynnal yng Nghymru.

‘No blame, no shame’   Online              11 January 2024

We started the year with an online QAADNET meeting featuring a talk by Patsy Staddon (Bristol AM). Patsy finally stopped drinking in 1988 after what she describes as ‘a disastrous 20 years’, and went on to run Women’s Independent Alcohol Support (WIAS) charity in Bristol for several years. She spoke about the challenges she faced in early recovery and her reflections on how addictive tendencies  of different kinds continued to be an issue for her in the years that followed. She went on to discuss the impact of defining alcohol addiction as a social construct.

Clear here to listen to a recording of Patsy’s talk

Click here for the link to view Patsy’s presentation slides

‘Moving On – Supporting people in early recovery to rebuild their lives’ – April 2022

In April 2022, we welcomed Brajna Greenhalgh (MSc Psychology, counsellor and post-graduate researcher, Bangor University) as our speaker. Brajna described ‘Moving On in My Recovery’, a cognative behavioural programme piloted in Wales, designed to support people in early recovery to develop resilience and rebuild their lives. She highlighted the important role of people with lived experience who were involved both in the design and co-delivery of the programme. She went on to give details of two related programmes which encourage people who are considering treatment to take the next step, and programme’s mobile app which is available to download free of charge. To view Brajna’s presentation slides, please click here.

Further information about all three programmes and the app can be found here: https://www.moving-on.uk/