The Big Picture: Preventing youth substance abuse in Assam

Description

Funded from the ESRC/AHRC Global Challenges Research Fund, we are conducting research with partner organisations in India - MIND India, NIRMAAN Rehabilitation Facility, and HOPR FOUNDATION Rehabilitation Facility - to understand how, despite risk and opportunity, some young Assamese people avoid harmful substance abuse. We also want to know how other young people, who may have become addicted to substances, successfully recover and regain control. Using photo-led interviews and film-making workshops, we are supporting young people to tell their stories of resilience and recovery in both words and pictures. Our aim is to convey these inspirational narratives to the public and to policy-makers. We will also work with practitioners to develop innovative services - such as assessments and interventions - that include images created by the young people with whom they are working. We will promote the study findings, and inspirational films on a purpose-designed website (https://projectresilience.co.uk/) and host events in Assam and the UK to engage policy-makers and the public. The work is led by Professor Anna Madill, Dr Siobhan Hugh-Jones, Raginie Duara (School of Psychology), Professor Paul Cooke (School of Languages, Cultures and Societies), Dr Tolib Mirzoev (Institute of Health Sciences), Dr Rebecca Graber (University of Brighton).