Hyper, Hyper Read All About It!

HYPER Health, Youth, Promotion, Education, Rehabilitation . . . This is the title of a brand new quarterly magazine produced by young former drug users between the ages of 18 and 20.
The HYPER project is funded by Youthstart, a European Employment Initiative, which targets disadvantaged young people. It is being run by Soilse, the Eastern Health Board's drug rehab programme.
The first issue has just been released and far from merely being a worthy endeavour, the magazine is an informative, well-written, beautifully presented and hugely impressive work. And this is only Issue 1.
There are about eight people involved in producing the magazine. HYPER's Editor, Stephen Mulkearn, explains the ethos behind it.
"There are two sides to the project," he explains. "On the one hand, it is a drug rehab programme: we have a councillor here who works with former heroin users. The other side of it is that we are training them to produce the magazine.
"Rehabilitation means getting back their self esteem, discovering new skills and new talents that they have, finding a direction for their life."
How successful has it been?
"The first issue has been an amazing success," enthuses Stephen. "The feedback has just been incredible, in terms of the content, how the articles are written, and how easily the information is presented, as well as the design of the magazine."
It struck this reader that the articles are very straight and to the point. There is no bullshit, no hiding the facts. For example, the cover story, Heroin: Exploding the Myths , gives you the facts: "There is nothing in its name to suggest or describe the complete and utter destruction that this drug can wreak upon the lives of its users and those around them.....Sooner or later, the constant use of heroin will bring you to a living hell."
"These kids have been through it," explains Stephen. "They can present the reality of the situation, which is a very unique thing for any magazine to do. Usually, journalists will be interviewing people about a subject they don't have that much experience of. Whereas, in this situation, the reporters and journalists have their own personal experience of the issues."
Was it a particular aim to deglamourise drug use?
"From our experiences here on the project," explains Stephen, "one of the reasons these young people started taking heroin all those months ago was that they thought it was glamorous; they thought there was a buzz attached to it because of what all their friends were telling them. A lot of them didn't even know it was heroin that they were taking and they didn't know what it could lead on to.
"Even the newer people coming on to the project are saying the same: 'We didn't have the information. We didn't have the knowledge about what this drug was going to do to us.' They didn't get the knowledge in school. They didn't get it from any of the agencies, and that's the big problem in the country at the moment. HYPER is about getting proper information out there about drugs and what they do to young people."
10,000 copies of the magazine s first issue were printed and distributed to all the drug agencies working with young people in Dublin, to youth and community centres, training workshops, doctors surgeries, schools, libraries and shops, and the reaction has apparently been very positive. The National Youth Council of Ireland, in particular, were very supportive. The magazine was also sent to TDs, but as yet there has been no response or reaction from Leinster House to HYPER.
It would be wrong to dismiss HYPER merely as a drugs-related magazine, though. It is much more. As well as the hugely informative and intelligent articles on drug use, the magazine also includes poetry, book reviews, interviews with Sister Consilio, photographer Perry Ogden and singer Christy Dignam, as well as a piece on the energy drink, Red Bull.
"The diversity of the articles is down to the fact that we don't want this to be a boring magazine just talking about drugs all the time, cos nobody's going to read it," explains Stephen. "It has to be relevant to a lot of different people. While it is aimed at young people, there are articles that older people could read as well. It's a broad ranging appeal."
One of the most noticeable aspects of HYPER is the standard of writing. These are not hardened hacks, with years of experience and training behind them. These young people had no previous experience of putting a magazine together before late last year, when the programme began.
"These kids would have left school when they were 12 or 13 and gone straight into drugs, and been using drugs for the past five or six years. They got so much shit from their teachers in school, who gave them such bad opinions of themselves, that discovering new things about themselves is just amazing for them."
He cites the example of Anna Clusker, who interviewed Aslan frontman Christy Dignam for the magazine.
"She couldn't believe that she could ever do it," smiles Stephen. "We went about training her in interview skills and sure enough, she got to interview Christy Dignam and she was over the moon.
"That's what it's about: it's about young people fulfilling their dreams and finding new talents and skills inside themselves: realising that even though they do have recovery and addiction issues, they are still wonderfully talented people.
"Heroin addicts are usually viewed as the scum of the earth, especially in the media, and this magazine is now saying that we can do something worthwhile and contribute something to society."
It s a point HYPER proves beyond argument. n