ARCADE (Amethyst Resource Centre for Alcohol and Drug Education) works to enable young people to make informed choices and reach their full potential. We do this through life skills based on alcohol and other drug education. We use experiential learning to raise self esteem, help develop choice-making skills and give age appropriate drug information. ARCADE involves parents in some of our projects and hope to develop their involvement further by engaging in community-based projects.

Since 2009 we have our own premises which provide a base for our work. We also let offices to other charities and have rooms available for meetings and training. ARCADE provides Drug Awareness training for agencies across Berkshire including Reading Street Pastors, RAHAB and Loose Ends in Newbury.

At present our core project work is with children and young people between the age of 9 and 14, although we do provide Tailor Made sessions for other age groups.

Amethyst provides three main projects at present:

• Amaze – Year 6 pupils (10/11 yr. olds)
• Take Control – Year 7 pupils
• Into the Unknown – Year 8 pupils

ARCADE works with over 3500 children and young people across Berkshire each year whilst providing parents workshops and drug awareness training.