Tributes have been paid to Maggie Telfer, the chief executive of the groundbreaking Bristol Drugs Project.
Maggie founded the Bristol Drugs Project back in 1986 and went on to be awarded the OBE for her work challenging the inequality and stigma faced by some of the most vulnerable people in society.
She was a manager of a homeless shelter in Swansea called, SASH (Swansea Accommodation for the Single Homeless), who helped start a pioneering project to help drug addicts in Bristol which grew to become one of the leading initiatives in the country has died at the age of 63.
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Maggie, who passed away on Thursday, January 12, was still just in her mid-20s when she and a group of young probation officers working in Bristol realised the cycle of addiction, crime and prison would only be broken if the addicted people she dealt with every day were supported to break their addictions.
The charity’s chair of trustees, John Long, said: “We are all devastated by the loss of a much-loved colleague. She has led the charity from strength to strength, across five decades. Maggie’s leadership, compassion and indomitable spirit inspired all around her.
“Our sadness will be matched by the sorrow of many people and their families whose lives were improved and transformed by her work. The City of Bristol has lost one of its truest champions. Our thoughts are very much with Maggie’s family at this difficult time,” he added.
Since it was founded in 1986, during an epidemic of heroin that was fuelling an acquisitional and petty crimewave in Bristol and across the country, the project has led the way as a provider of Bristol’s services for the people, families and communities affected by drugs or alcohol.
“Her immense knowledge, experience, determination and foresight has led BDP to become a much-trusted service provider,” a spokesperson for the project said.
“Maggie’s work was defined by her drive to challenge the inequality and stigma faced by some of the most vulnerable people in our society. The charity has worked alongside local government, health, education, police and community agencies to reduce harm and help people fulfil their potential, leading to safer and healthier lives. As a result, Bristol is now widely recognised as being at the leading edge of tackling the issues surrounding drug and alcohol use,” he added.
Maggie spent a couple of years back between 2002 and 2004 helping to establish the Omari Project in Kenya, which was the first sub-Saharan needle exchange and treatment programme, and she was awarded the OBE in 2007.
In 2018, she was nominated as one of the 100 most influential women in the West, and again named by Bristol Live as one of the 87 most influential women in Bristol. “Maggie led BDP through the pandemic, maintaining services without interruption with her usual determination to provide the best service possible to those most in need,” said the project spokesperson. “Her work has a local, national and international reputation, earning many accolades. She was much sought after as an expert speaker both around the UK and abroad,” he added.
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