News Reports & Events. |
| 24th Nov 2005 |
Reporter Sarah Marion Jones; Photographer Arwyn Roberts;
Published in the Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald 24/11/05
YOUNGSTERS at a Llyn school were given a stark warning about drug and
alcohol addiction last week.
A conference on personal education was held at Ysgol Botwnnog last Thursday
where pupils attended seminars about topics ranging from relationships to
contraception and drug abuse.
A lecture by two ex-addicts had a great impact on the children from Year
Nine.
The Drug Informed Choice Education (DICE) programme was founded by a former
drug addict and dealer Jeff Webb (above centre) from Valley, Anglesey. It aims at giving
youngsters information about drugs, alcohol and solvents so they can decide
for themselves which path to take.
Glenn Abbott (above right) from Abergele also spoke to the pupils as part of the programme.
He said: "I am a recovered alcoholic, it has taken me 25 years to beat the habit. I got involved with the scheme six months ago when I was summoned to court for drink-driving and was given a community rehabilitation order. They asked me to come to schools to present the children my experiences of drink."
Jeff Webb speaks to the children about the time he was selling drugs and how it led to six years in prison.
Glenn added: "Our aim is to be dissuasive by giving the children the correct information and helping them make the right decision. I believe this is better than a teacher reading something out of a book to them, we can give our real-life experiences of what terrible things drugs and drink can do. At first the children are relaxed when we start, but you can see their body language change as they are shocked by our stories. I can see the effects of the project and the message getting through."
The project is funded through the Welsh Assembly and available to schools in Gwynedd and M�n, and it is hoped to go nationwide in the future.
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Sarah Marion Jones
Gohebydd / Reporter
Caernarfon & Denbigh Herald
01766 513993 / 07941 615423
Fax 01766 514526 |
| 2nd August 2005 |
End of Academic Year Analyses now ready for viewing here. |
| 19th July 2005 |
Presentation made to Chris Jones (Communities 1st Holyhead) in recognition of  the assistance given by Chris, which enabled The DICE Program to get started before proper funding was in place.
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| 18th July 2005 |
Update on Legal Status of Magic Mushrooms.
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| 1st June 2005
� Caernarfon Herald
Reporter:
Lee Roberts
Photographer:
Gareth Jones
|
Former crack cocaine addict is on a mission to educate.
Jeff tells pupils not to DICE with drugs
A FORMER drug addict from Valley, who once went on the run from the law after escaping from jail, is on a mission to teach children about the real dangers of drugs.
Jeff Webb knows the damage drugs can do to peoples lives, as he has been there and done that literally. But the self-confessed former crack cocaine addict is now on a mission to end the devastating effects of drugs in the community.
Jeff has set up his own organisation, Drug Informed Choice Education or DICE, which aims to inform people of the true realities of drug addiction. He has visited several schools and Coleg Menai where he has given talks about his personal fight against addiction and the damage it caused.
Jeff told the Mail: "I have visited Llangefni and Holyhead schools as
well as Coleg Menai so far in a bid to get the message across, and more are becoming interested in DICE. The talks focus on drugs and who are the victims involved. I look at my case and my experience and their perceptions about drugs really change.
I went to prison in 1999 for a drugs-related offence but in 2001 I escaped and came to Holyhead, where I spent eight months on the run before being recognized by police and sent back to prison. In prison they performed plays and I was asked to take part. At first I said no way but after taking a small role I wanted bigger parts until I became the starring role! I was released in February 2004.
During my time in prison I realized what damage drugs were doing, as I had been on crack cocaine, so I wanted to do something about it so that others wouldn't go down the same road as I did. When I was released from prison I popped in to the Communities First center on William Street and they were very supportive of what I wanted to do.
It is all about informing people. I ask people what they think about drugs before talking to them about my experience and then ask them the same questions again. There is a definite change in their opinions. The program has become such a success there have been talks to extend it to Gwynedd."
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| 26th May 2005 |
The DICE Website has had 8774 hits for the period from the 6th to 19th of May.
Jeff reports "I can not believe that so many people have had the opportunity to visit the website, this is fantastic, and I thank my friend Bryn for spending a lot of his own time in designing the website".
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| 25th May 2005 |
A meeting has been arranged for Wednesday the 25th May at N.O.C.N. Wales regarding getting a 40-hour drug awareness DICE Program course accredited by the N.O.C.N. All that attend this course will benefit greatly and will also gain credits to higher education.
Jeff has had 2 meetings with a local person who is interested in sharing his past experiences with young people. Jeff reports that he has designed a PowerPoint presentation for the client and that he is now training the client on how to deliver the presentation in an appropriate manner, helping to build the clients confidence. The client is also Welsh speaking which would be of great benefit for DICE.
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| 18th May 2005 |
Jeff attended a meeting for Unltd Wales on 18th of May at the National Water Sports Center, Plas Menai and talked to other award winners about the DICE program.
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| 10th May 2005 |
On Tuesday the 10th May Jeff Webb attended a meeting with North Wales police at Colwyn Bay to discuss using the Dice programs S.D.I. presentation as an input to police training. The training provided is to take around 3 and half hours to deliver with the first input being arranged for November 2005. Jeff reports that this is a great opportunity to assist the police in their training, m with further knowledge for their job role. Jeff is currently in the process of writing the methodology of how the session will be delivered.
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| 6th May 2005 |
Friday 6th May Jeff Webb attended a meeting with Community First Holyhead to discuss premises for the DICE program. It was suggested that the O�Toole Center might be a good venue. A meeting was arranged with Holyhead Mayor Jeff Evans who offered the use of a room and also the use of secure storage for files. Jeff reports "I would like to thank my friend Chris Jones, Community First Coordinator for organizing the meeting for me. The mayor was concerned that he was not aware of such a valuable program as D.I.C.E. and he said he would have a discussion with the council about providing the use of the room for free". Jeff told the mayor that he would go back to the steering group before accepting the offer.
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| 19th April 2005 |
On Tuesday 19th of April Jeff Webb attended Gwynedd Council Penrallt offices, Caernarfon to make a presentation to Dewi Bowen, Education Officer and Catherine Roberts, S.M.A.T. about The D.I.C.E. Program in Gwynedd.
The presentation was a success and as a result the dice program is to pilot in 2 schools in Gwynedd starting with the first in June at Ysgol Tryfan and then Ysgol Friars.
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| 29th March 2005 |
Scanned images of our Constitution; Theses links will be replaced by a normal web page as soon as I have time to type the documents in HTML !
constitution1.tif 3.29Mb
constitution2.tif 3.33Mb
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| 17th March 2005 |
Open College Network Unit now on COURSES page.
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| 15th March 2005 |
Scanned image of minutes of meeting a Medrwn M�n - Large File 3.7Mb news15_03_2003.tif
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| 15th March 2005 |
Website updated with new drug fact sheets
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| 28th Oct. 2004
Claire Hart
Deputy Editor/Head of News
North Wales Chronicle, Ynys M�n Edition
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AN ANGLESEY man, locked for years in the vicious circle of drug addiction, is proving to his community that he can transform lives through his experiences.
Four years ago, and by his own admission, Valley window cleaner Jeff Webb, 34, was a ruthless heroin dealer who didn't give a second thought to the victims of his crimes.
Today, he travels around North Wales and beyond, delivering hard-hitting presentations about the perils of drug use.
He explained: "I began taking crack cocaine when I split up with my wife, to help me forget about my troubles.
"I soon got addicted, and started dealing heroin to feed this addiction."
Selling to street dealers rather than the users themselves, Jeff had no actual contact with those who were suffering through drug use - and so felt no real guilt
However, once in prison for his criminal activity, he soon realized what an effect drugs could have - on his own two-year-old daughter, Jadie.
He said: " While I was in prison, my partner at the time became addicted to heroin
"I saw then what it was like to see somebody you love on drugs.
"I sat in my cell night after night worried sick about my daughter - she wasn't being looked after properly because her mother's addiction was more important."
He added: "I thought to myself, 'how many people have I put through this - how many kids have been neglected because of me?'"
Jeff made a decision to dramatically change his ways.
He became involved in the prison's 'Choose Life' programme, which saw school groups visiting the inmates for educational sessions.
He said: "The teachers would ask us how we held the young people's attention.
"The kids listened to us because we'd been there."
On his release from prison in February, Jeff began to tour schools, community centers and police training colleges with his own presentations, highlighting the depths drug users can stoop to.
He explained: "I don't tell people what to do, but I give them a more informed choice.
"A young person came up to me at the end of one of my school presentations.
"He told me that he'd been dealing drugs, but that he was going to stop after what I'd told him."
And Jeff's life has also changed - he now lives with his partner and their 18-month-old twins Shauna and Dillon, and is regularly visited by his three older children.
He said: "I came very close to dying - not only from the drugs but from the dangerous elements I was involved with - and I feel ashamed of what I did.
"Now, I'm passionate about what I'm doing, and I know I've changed people's lives already."
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| 10th March 2005 |
Welcome to our new Website! We hope that you will find it informative and helpful. |
