A drug and alcohol addiction service which sprang out of Edinburgh’s ‘Trainspotting’ era has been saved from closure after receiving last gasp funding.
North Edinburgh Drug and Alcohol Centre (NEDAC) was set up in the 1980s at the height of the city’s notorious heroin and AIDS epidemic which was depicted in Irvine Welsh’s book and consequent film.
The centre's specialist team supports older drug users with entrenched addiction and mental health problems – the group with the highest percentage of drug related deaths in Scotland.
However its future was thrown into jeopardy last year when it was refused funding from the Scottish Government.
Staff were just 11 days away from being made redundant when the National Lottery confirmed a last-minute decision to award the project £437,000 from the Big Lottery Fund. It helps safeguard the future of the service for the next three years.
NEDAC covers the city’s Muirhouse and Pilton areas which featured in Trainspotting’s fictional depiction of heroin addiction in Edinburgh in the 1980s.
Danny Campbell, manager of NEDAC, said the funding had arrived at a critical point. “This funding is critical. We were 11 days away from all being made redundant when the Big Lottery committee awarded us the funding.”
The service's Complex and Multiple Needs team focuses on providing support for generally older drug users who struggle to access mainstream services.
Latest figures show the median age for drug-related deaths in Scotland is 41, having risen from 28 in 1996.
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