ANTI-DRUG campaigner Paul Hannaford came to Frome this week as part of a drug initiative being launched in Frome to engage young people in discussion around some of the serious social issues that they may face.
In conjunction with Avon & Somerset Police, Frome College arranged for Paul to deliver his drug awareness talks to all student year groups throughout the day.
The college said, “Paul is a well-respected speaker who has already spoken to over 50,000 students this year across the UK, and since 2009, he has worked with over 300,000 students.
“The talks were based on his life story, which provided a real life insight to crime, drugs addiction, alcohol and gang life, knife crime, self-harm and bullying. All students received a valuable message about these topics, and Paul was extremely professional ensuring his talks were appropriate for each year group.
“We are grateful to the Mendip Police Team in facilitating and supporting these talks.”
Paul said, “I cannot stress enough the importance of talking honestly to children about the catastrophic effects drugs, knife crime and gangs can have on their life, and the lives of those who love them. Every child matters and their future must be a bright one. We need to do all we can to ensure that.”
You can find out more about Paul Hannaford on www. paulhannaford. com/ or Instagram @paulhannaford and paulhannaford.com on Twitter.
In addition, Frome Town Council hosted Paul Hannaford in the evening, to deliver his drug awareness talk to parents in the Town Hall. 47 people attended and the council live streamed the talk. On the night, 248 people viewed the live stream, which is still available on the FTC Facebook page. By 4.00pm, Paul had over 250 comments from students and parents on his social media, saying how inspirational and powerful the talk was.
Frome Town Council is looking at more workshops and action to tackle drugs in the town. Avon & Somerset Police said how important it was that all incidents involving and relating to drugs were reported and logged.
