Governance – Chairs Report

Another year of substantial achievement for Lifeline, with new contracts won and continuing expansion. The web version of this report has contributions from across our organisation and shows the depth, breadth and quality of the services we provide.

The Trustees and the Executive of the Project are considering how best to organise ourselves to respond to the changing environment of the drugs field, and how to make sure we make the most of the opportunities this will present. We want to involve our staff and our supporters in this process. In the annual review that follows you can read about the strategic management review in more detail. I encourage you to do so, and to let us know your thoughts on the issues it raises.

Whilst it is important that we spend time reflecting on these organisational issues, we must not lose sight of the need to provide the best quality of service we can to the clients and communities we serve, by working to reduce the harm caused by drugs, and helping those communities to improve their health and wellbeing. It is our frontline staff and volunteers who work to achieve this on a daily basis, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for continuing to provide excellent services and maintaining their focus on the clients we serve. Without their commitment and understanding we would not be able to speak with any confidence about the critical issues that effect people and communities whose wellbeing is undermined by drugs.

Whatever your involvement in the drugs field, whether as drug user, service user, practitioner, researcher, or other interested party, we would like you to explore the information and literature we have prepared, and to let us know what you think about what we say, and the way we say it.