About us - Soilse

1992 

• Soilse piloted

1993

• Represented on Eastern Health Board (EHB) first community drug team in Dublin

1994 

• Evaluation and mainstreaming of Soilse

• Represented on EHB Social Development Committee

• Represented Ireland as Model of Excellence in the European Social Fund (ESF) Horizon conference in Barcelona

1996 

• Soilse recognised as a model of best practice in the First Report of the Ministerial Task Force on Measures to Reduce Demand for Drugs (the Rabitte Report)Soilse represented on the EHB Eastern Regional Committee on Drug Rehabilitation

• Research on vocational guidance and drug abuse undertaken by the Department of Adult and Community Education, the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. Supported by the ESF Leonardo Programme

1997  

• Soilse represented on the Lord Mayor of Dublin’s Commission on Drugs

• Soilse/Rutland partnership formed, supported by the North Inner City Local Drug Task Force

1998  

• HYPER magazine established

1999   

• Soilse represented on EHB Rehabilitation Blueprint Committee

• SHAPE – Soilse, Health and Arts Project, Experience. Soilse took part in a pilot project between the EHB / Eastern Regional Health Authority (ERHA) and the Arts Council to gauge the benefits of arts in healthcare settings

• Soilse drug-free facility brought on stream

• HYPER magazine wins international award for innovation and design

2000 

• HYPER mainstreamed

• Soilse/Rutland Partnership mainstreamed

2001 

• Soilse representative addressed the first European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCCDA) conference on vocational rehabilitation and drugs in Europe

• Dedicated career guidance service established with the City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee (CDVEC)

2003

• Arts Health Policy launched by the Eastern Regional Health Authority (ERHA) – Soilse involved for previous six years in contributing to the process which resulted in the national policy

2004 

• Soilse participates in ‘Streets’ art exhibition in Dublin’s north inner city

2005

• Education Development Worker post created with CDVEC to support Soilse participants in college

2007 

• Soilse awarded a FETAC Quality Assurance certificate, enabling Soilse to offer its own FETAC-accredited modules

2008

• Received the Dublin and region STAR award from Aontas, the Irish National Adult Learning Organisation, for both innovation in practice and teamwork in adult education.

• Soilse led the annual Irish commemoration on International Eradication of Poverty Day, held at Customs House Quay, Dublin, on 17 October.

2009

• Soilse’s Return to Learning project is a finalist in the EBS/NALA Adult Continuing Education (ACE) Awards. The project supports recovering drug users in their progression to further education.

2010

• Soilse’s Career Guidance Service wins the 2010 Dublin Regional STAR Award from Aontas, the Irish National Adult Learning Organisation.

2011

• Soilse’s drug-free programme moves from North Frederick Street to Green Street, Dublin 7, closer to its sister programme in Henrietta Place.

• Soilse wins the 2011 STAR Award from Aontas, the Irish National Adult Learning Organisation for its Service User Involvement initiative.

• Interviews with 20 former Soilse participants form the basis of a ground-breaking study by the Health Research Board, The Role of Education in Developing Recovery Capital in Recovery from Substance Addiction (Keane, 2011).

2012

• Soilse celebrates its 20^th anniversary in July with three days of activities highlighting that recovery from addiction is possible. Events include an art exhibition, poetry and prose readings, drama, a soccer tournament and a ‘recovery is contagious’ symposium.

2013 

• Soilse-Gateway partnership is established, creating a local north inner city progression route for women in addiction recovery

• Soilse begins highlighting and advocating for the needs of homeless drug users in recovery, work that continues to the present

• The HSE continuum of Care is formalised. This integrated service approach combines Soilse detox preparation, Cuan Dara residential detoxification centre, Keltoi residential therapeutic treatment centre and Soilse drug-free programme

2014

• Addiction Recovery: A Contagious Paradigm is published based on research undertaken in Soilse

• Soilse is shortlisted for the  Irish Health Awards Rehabilitation Centre of the Year

• Soilse begins work on the European Union Grundtvig RECOVEU project, with partners from the UK, Romania, Cyprus and Italy. The project aims to develop access learning materials for people in recovery going into further education

2015

• Soilse makes a presentation to the Oireachtas Committee on Health on the report Addiction Recovery: A Contagious Paradigm

• Soilse staff visit recovery projects in Liverpool and form links with recovery organisations in the UK

• Soilse helps set up the Recovery Academy of Ireland, a network of advocates for recovery seeking to co-operate on mutual issues

• Soilse is again shortlisted for the  Irish Health Awards Rehabilitation Centre of the Year

2016

• Soilse wins the Aontas STAR Award for Leinster Large Projects for its use of adult learning approaches to prepare participants for detoxification

• Soilse facilitates a five-day training course for recovery coaches on behalf of the Recovery Academy of Ireland

2017

Soilse co-organises (with the Dyslexia Association of Ireland) a conference exploring a possible link between dyslexia and drug use

2018

Soilse implements a major transformation of its programme, shifting from an addiction rehabilitation model to a recovery model. The rationale is based on service user feedback, our work in the European RECOVEU project, emerging academic literature on recovery and the performance indicators in the 2017 National Drug Strategy

Soilse changes its timetable to encourage mothers of young children to engage with the programme

Soilse wins an Aontas STAR Award for adult learning initiatives that promote well-being