Hamilton Accies Community Outreach Programme

That the Parliament commends the community outreach programme at Hamilton Academical FC for educating youth football players of the risks associated with substance misuse; recognises the importance of young people learning from those who have experienced addiction and have journeyed into recovery; considers that alcohol and substance misuse is endemic across communities in Scotland and that dispelling the misconception that addiction is exclusively confined to communities with extreme levels of unemployment and poverty is important; commends the charity, Blameless, which is based at Hamilton Accies, for raising awareness of the dangers associated with alcohol and drugs through education, and for providing life-changing support to families, particularly children and young people; remains concerned that, according to National Records of Scotland report, Drug-related Deaths in Scotland in 2017, 24% of such deaths are individuals under the age of 35, and encourages the Scottish Government to consider further proactive measures to engage with young people in Scotland on harm prevention, and to offer support to community outreach programmes such as that at Hamilton Accies.