Jack Keery – Page 2 – Humankind

Dame Carol Black welcomes new approach to mental health and substance use treatment

Jack Keery

Dame Carol Black poses for a picture with the Staffordshire ICoN team

A new initiative to support people with both mental health and drug and alcohol issues has been welcomed by Dame Carol Black, who led a landmark national review on drugs.

Dame Carol visited Staffordshire to find out more about our new ICoN (Integrated Co-occurring Needs) initiative, which brings together local authority, NHS, voluntary and community sectors in a single approach.

She also commented on her hope that other areas would find out more about the Staffordshire initiative to see if elements could be replicated to help better meet local priorities.

Dame Carol Black said: “In my review presented to Government, I said it was essential that we looked at mental health when it comes to problems with substance use, so I think it is excellent that Staffordshire has linked this support together.

“I hope that other areas will now find out more about ICoN and think about how they could borrow it, follow it or perhaps adjust it to best meet the needs of their local communities and the people who need their support.”

Funded by Staffordshire County Council and the NHS, ICoN has been formed as a partnership between Humankind and Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) to support people in the county.

Julia Jessel, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Care, said: “Mental health issues and drug or alcohol use often come hand in hand and there needs to be more focus on addressing the root cause of problems.

“We were delighted to get to share our new partnership with Dame Carol and look forward to the approach making so much more of an impact on the lives of Staffordshire residents.”

ICoN has a dedicated team of professionals including, psychologists, mental health practitioners, and substance use coordinators. This team will use phases of intervention to offer the right support, to the right people, at the right time.

The ICoN pathway will support people for at least six months, coordinating any transitions into local services whilst offering a follow-up review to provide an opportunity to reflect on progress and any challenges.

The service is viewed as a model of best practice, directly responding to issues with current drug and alcohol treatment provision outlined by Dame Carol’s landmark independent review of drugs and the Government’s subsequent 10-year drugs plan.

Emma Cormack, Service Manager from Humankind, said: “We know from experience that the vast majority of people with substance use issues are also living with mental health challenges so our team will help make sure people don’t fall through gaps between services and can in fact make positive life changes with the correct integrated support and specialist interventions.”

Dr Nina Vass, Consultant Clinical Psychologist with MPFT said: “With a shared commitment to trauma-informed care, this new approach has brought together mental health and substance use treatment to help meet the needs of people more effectively and efficiently.”

Watch the video below to hear from the ICoN team and experts within the service on their trailblazing approach, as well as leading expert Dame Carol Black.

The video was produced by John Paul Chapman of Chase Recovery and The Detox Factor.

Swedish social enterprise cooperative visits 5 WAYS

Jack Keery

Pictured from left to right are 5 WAYS Manager Jo Byrden with Linda Tolly, Charlotte Gustavsson and Angelica Lindblad of Vägen Ut!
Staff from Vägen Ut! visited 5 WAYS, our Recovery Academy in Leeds, on Wednesday 3 May for a seminar with members and staff about setting up and managing social enterprises.

Vägen Ut! is based in Gothenburg, Sweden and runs 13 social enterprises that provide real jobs for people who struggle to gain employment due to past issues with alcohol/drugs, criminal justice or disabilities.

They provide environmentally friendly products and services then reinvest the profits to create more jobs. The cooperative has an annual turnover in excess of £33 million. Vägen Ut! means ‘A Way Out’ in English.

5 WAYS Manager Jo Byrden said: ”The work that the Vägen Ut! team do in Sweden is incredible. Helping people who are unable to find work to create their own businesses is fabulous. Not only that, the diversity of the business they run and the people they support is so impressive and they do it all with the highest green credentials.”

“It’s been a wonderful learning opportunity for us and has really motivated the team and the members to look at how we might begin to create our own social enterprises here in Leeds, using the many skills and experiences of the members. Our members are full of creativity, ideas and enthusiasm. Now it feels like just a matter of deciding where and how we start.

The staff from Vägen Ut! were also impressed with 5 WAYS. Linda Tolly of Vägen Ut! said: “It’s truly inspiring to come to 5 WAYS and see what they are doing. It’s clearly a real meeting place of hope and creativity where people can help each other. We don’t have anything exactly like this in Sweden.”

Vägen Ut! visited a range of recovery services in the North of England that also included Aspire in Doncaster and Recovery Connections in Middlesbrough.

Pictured above from left to right are 5 WAYS Manager Jo Byrden with Linda Tolly, Charlotte Gustavsson and Angelica Lindblad of Vägen Ut!

Forward Leeds director selected for international honour

Jack Keery

Dr Joe Tay, a Clinical Director at Forward Leeds, the city’s alcohol and drug service, is one of only four people from the UK selected to be a Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice by the US based Commonwealth Fund in 2023.

Forward Leeds is Britain’s second biggest multi-agency project to tackle alcohol and drug problems. It is partnership made up of staff from Humankind, BARCA-LeedsSt Anne’s Community Services and the Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

This prestigious international placement provides an opportunity for medical professionals committed to advancing health care policy and practice to spend a year in the United States.

Dr Tay said: “This is an incredible privilege for me, made possible partly due to the amazing work that Forward Leeds as an organisation undertakes in supporting people with their alcohol and drugs issues.

“I’m looking forward to learning and bringing back insights and experiences helpful to Yorkshire, and hopefully opportunities for national and international cooperation as well.”

While he is there, Dr Tay will share his experiences of working in the UK. Dr Tay will also undertake research related to his role at Forward Leeds and engage in a series of leadership development activities.

Humankind Executive Medical Director Dr Roya Vaziri said: “As part of the Humankind senior clinical team, Joe has demonstrated a relentless energy to advocate for the needs of people who use drugs and alcohol.

“He consistently brings a methodical, systematic, and analytical approach to developing new ideas and collaborating with colleagues to improve service delivery and pathways. I’m proud to have supported Joe’s application and commend his tireless work.

“We will all look forward to witnessing his Harkness work progress across the pond, and to welcoming him back another year older and wiser as a key part of the Humankind team.”

The Commonwealth Fund was established in 1918 in New York with the broad aim of enhancing the common good. The mission of the Commonwealth Fund is to promote a high-performing, equitable health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society’s most vulnerable.

Being Human: our new five-year strategy

Jack Keery

Our new five-year strategy, Being Human, is centered on people: the people who use our services, their families, and the communities they are part of.  

Our ambition is to drive radical change, so people impacted by drugs, alcohol and related issues experience fairer chances to flourish in their communities. 

Read Being Human: a strategy for everyone.

A message from Paul Townsley, Humankind CEO:  

I am extremely excited about Being Human and what the future holds for the people we support. When developing our strategy we kept at the forefront of our minds our vision – that we want to see a world where everyone has a fair chance to be safe, build ambitions for the future and reach their full potential.  

We wanted this strategy to stretch us and to increase our impact. It is focused on the communities and people we work with, and I am confident that we will support more people through local services embedded in their communities and partnerships that challenge the status quo. We are proud to be a national charity made up of local services. We will develop the necessary partnerships to work with communities to make sure that local needs are met and that we are there for the long term.   

When we launched Being Human internally our ambition of driving radical change really struck a chord and started some interesting conversations. Everyone got behind the vision to make a real difference to the people we work with and recognised that we must continue to develop and grow as an organisation to do that.   

An image which describes the three goals in Humankind's new 5 year strategy. People: we will support more poeple at different points of need, from prevention, to impactful services, to have fair chances for a home, a job and purpose. Place: we will deliver local services that become embedded as assets to help build stronger, more confident communities. Partnerships: we will build partnerships that challenge the status quo to bring positive change for the people we support.

To shape our strategy, we listened to over 3,300 people: the people we support, our colleagues and our valued delivery partners. We learnt a lot, and the strategy has genuinely been based on listening to that feedback. Thank you to everyone that contributed, we couldn’t have done it without you.   

We want to keep listening and in the coming months will be collecting feedback on what people think about the strategy.   

Having joined DISC in July 2015 as Chief Executive, I am hugely proud of the success of our previous five-year strategy, which helped us evolve into Humankind, grow and support over 90,000 people last year. Being Human builds on these solid foundations and I’m looking forward to working with our expert and committed teams and the people we support to deliver it.

Read Being Human: a strategy for everyone.

New alcohol and drug service launches for Bradford district

Jack Keery

New Vision Bradford is a new service to help people who have issues with alcohol and other drugs across the district.

The service, which starts today, on 3 April 2023, is a partnership between our national charity at Humankind along with three local charities, The Bridge ProjectCreate Strength Group and Project 6, who have been offering support from their bases in Bradford and Keighley for many years.

New Vision Bradford has been commissioned by Bradford Metropolitan District Council and the NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board through the Bradford District and Craven Health and Care Partnership.

Humankind Regional Director Lee Wilson, who will oversee the service, said: “We plan to build on the experience of our partners to make New Vision Bradford one of the most innovative and effective substance support services in England.

“We already have plans in place for treatment pathways and models that can help people achieve their goals and build better lives for themselves. We’ll be working closely with other partners in health and social care across the district and listening to the people we support to continually develop and improve what we have to offer”.

Sasha Bhat, Programme Director – Healthy Minds for the Bradford District and Craven Health and Care Partnership, said: “We recognise that providing compassionate and people-centred services to support people experiencing substance dependency is the best way to create long-lasting behaviour change.

“We’re delighted that this new service will help local people and do so in a way that is non-judgemental and at a pace that suits each individual. We want people to know that this service will be there for you in your recovery journey.”

New Vision Bradford will include a range of support including harm reduction, care coordination, clinical and therapeutic interventions. The service will also provide support for family members. New Vision Bradford will continue to work with people who become abstinent to help them create a healthy and meaningful life.

To contact New Vision Bradford call 01274 296023 email info@newvisionbradford.org.uk or visit the website www.newvisionbradford.org.uk

EDP to fully merge into parent charity Humankind

Jack Keery

The logos of two charities that are merging, Humankind and EDP

EDP has proudly supported people in the South West since 1984, and as a subsidiary of Humankind since April 2020. Our two charities have worked closely together, with EDP drawing on Humankind’s national scale and expertise. As closely aligned charities, EDP will now take the next step in integration by merging fully into its parent charity on 1 July of this year.

Uniting the organisations will make us stronger and more sustainable. EDP’s Reach Dorset, Together Devon and wider services will become Humankind’s South West operational region, enabling us to serve the people of the South West even better, reaching a greater amount of people. There is no anticipated reduction in the overall number of roles.

As a national provider of support Humankind has services across England. We are proud to have supported over 90,000 people last year and that all our Care Quality Commission inspected services are assessed as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’. The new South West operational region will be supported by Humankind’s core functions and will be able to draw on good practice, new models and resources from our other operational regions.

Paul Townsley, CEO of Humankind, said: “After three years of close partnership work, I’m delighted that Humankind will be welcoming EDP staff and services in July. I know both charities pride themselves on their partnership approach as well as their focus on, and belief in, the people they serve. We will ensure these values continue as part of EDP’s proud legacy in the South West.”

Penny Blackmore, CEO of EDP, said “Working with Humankind as a subsidiary over the last three years has brought many benefits to EDP, so taking this next step feels very natural. Being able to deliver life changing recovery services with our trademark care and professionalism to more people in the South West is an exciting prospect, and one that we are now ready to take.”

Humankind to deliver drug and alcohol support for young people, children and families in Enfield

Jack Keery

Group of students using mobile phone to take a selfie

Insight Enfield: Sort it! is set to launch in April 2023 providing provide free, friendly and confidential drug and alcohol support in the London Borough of Enfield for young people up to the age of 25, parents with drug or alcohol challenges, and families affected by a loved one’s substance use.

The service will be delivered by the national charity Humankind which supported over 90,000 people in 2021/22. Humankind delivers four young people’s services and three family support services across London as part of its Insight group of services. The Insight Services share a website, social media and good practice approach which the Enfield service will be part of. 

Lyndsey Morris, Humankind Director of Operations for London and the South, said: “I am delighted that Enfield is joining the Insight family. We look forward to working with our local partners to provide free, flexible and judgement free support to local young people. Our services are focused on helping young people achieve their potential and be empowered to make healthy and safe decisions, that help them build a more resilient. 

“Our family offer will support parents with drug or alcohol problems, families and friends impacted by substance use and children affected by their parent’s drug or alcohol use.” 

The service has been commissioned by Enfield Council’s Public Health team and will launch on 1 April 2023 based at 29 Folkestone Road, N18 2ER. It will deliver support to young people and families from community locations across Enfield. To learn more please contact insightenfield@humankindcharity.org.uk or visit the Insight website.

“I am so happy to be back at work and in a job I love” – employment support scheme in the spotlight

Jack Keery

A scheme which supports people in recovery to find permanent employment was celebrated last week in South Tyneside and Gateshead.

The Individual Placement and Support (IPS) programme provides support to people over the age of 16 who have experienced issues with drugs and alcohol. Finding meaningful employment can significantly help with a person’s recovery from drug and alcohol use, so this innovative programme is a great addition to local services and an integral part of a person’s recovery journey.

Sitting within the commissioned Substance Misuse Treatment Service of South Tyneside and covering both South Tyneside and Gateshead localities, Humankind’s South Tyneside and Gateshead IPS scheme is the first of its kind in the UK to be hosted across two local authorities.

Since it was established in October 2021, the service has worked with 154 people providing dedicated, tailored support and advice in their search for rewarding employment. The team also offers in-work support for both employees and employers to ensure that the employment can be sustained.

Dame Carol Black, whose landmark Independent Review of Drugs led to the publication of the cross-government drug strategy ‘From Harm to Hope’, attended the celebration event. Also in attendance were Councillor Anne Hetherington, Lead Member for Adults, Health and Independence at South Tyneside Council, and Alice Wiseman and Tom Hall, Directors for Public Health for Gateshead and South Tyneside respectively.

Dame Carol Black’s review highlighted that, alongside treatment, meaningful activity makes an important contribution to sustaining recovery from drug use. There is considerable evidence that employment can improve treatment outcomes, reduce the frequency and severity of relapse, and reduce re-presentations to services.

The Gateshead and South Tyneside programme has been described as “one of the standout teams among the new areas.”

A person who has been supported by the service said they would “highly recommend this programme to anyone accessing services, who is looking to work and maintain employment in the future. The advice and support I have been given has made me realise that change is not impossible and with the right encouragement and help pointing you in the right direction a positive change can be achieved.”

Another said that “the support I have received has been phenomenal… I am so happy to be back at work and in a job I love.”

Councillor Hetherington said: “This programme is an absolute trailblazer. Providing support to help people find and stay in employment is an integral part of the recovery journey and I’m delighted that people who want to work are being given this opportunity. This fits well with our vision of helping people in South Tyneside to live healthy, happy and fulfilled lives.

“It is fantastic that Individual Placement Support is giving people confidence and motivation. As a result of this project, more people can now look forward to even brighter futures.”

Gateshead’s Director of Public Health Alice Wiseman said: “This event is about celebrating the successes of the amazing recovery community that we have in our local area. The IPS programme plays a key role in equipping individuals with the skills and self-esteem needed to secure rewarding roles, which helps people stay well in their recovery as good employment improves health and wellbeing in many ways. Obviously having an income and financial stability is important, but good work also offers more social interactions and a sense of identity and purpose.

“Celebrating these successes both shows people who are struggling with addiction that there is light at the end of the tunnel, as well as helping to tackle the stigma surrounding addiction, which is one of the biggest barriers to people seeking support.”

To support recovery and the movement from treatment into work, the government is investing a further £21 million to roll out IPS for people in drug or alcohol treatment across England by the end of 2024/25. This brings the total funding for this new programme to over £39 million across the next three years.

After initially launching as a Government pilot project at Humankind’s service in Staffordshire, we have now been commissioned to deliver the programme in South Tyneside and Gateshead, Durham, Cumbria, Leeds, Bradford, Calderdale and Barnsley.

For more information Humankind’s IPS services, please visit our IPS webpage.

You can also read Christine’s story to find out more about the benefits of IPS.

Providing a ‘wound aware’ service

Jack Keery

A person dressing the wound of another person with a bandage

Humankind is committed to improving people’s health and wellbeing, and the coming years will see a greater focus on both health outcomes and the reduction of health inequalities.

We know the health of some people who use drugs can be poor, and for those who inject drugs wounds are a particular risk. It is therefore our ambition is to become a wound aware service provider.

By providing wound aware services, people we support across the country will be able to access assessment, evidence based interventions and improved specialist pathways. This will allow us to reduce and prevent infections, identify worsening injecting sites and advocate and support people to access specialist pathways.

There are three stages to becoming a wound aware service. The first will see the launch of our Wound Aware training programme, which is required for all of our front line staff. This will provide foundation knowledge and awareness of common infections, wounds and harm reduction advice to reduce the risk of infections and wounds.

The second stage will see evaluation of specialist pathways within our services. This will provide a baseline of specialist service access while improving our partnerships and relationships with specialists providers.

Finally, we will develop a specific wound aware logo which will enable the people we support to recognise our specialist wound aware services. The aim of this is to encourage open conversations about wounds, so that staff can then discuss health and wound-care, ultimately reducing stigma, increasing awareness and improving people’s health.

Humankind joins call to reinstate funding to support children affected by parental alcohol use

Jack Keery

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt MP, will deliver his Spring Budget in Parliament on Wednesday 15 March.

Through the Alcohol and Families Alliance, of which we are a member, we signed a joint letter to the Chancellor at the beginning of March calling for him to reinstate funding to support children of alcohol dependent parents.

The Alcohol and Families Alliance is a collaboration of over 40 organisations that is united in reducing the harms experienced by families through alcohol.

Established in 2018, the Children of Alcohol Dependent Parents grant enabled ground-breaking work to take place, benefitting many children of alcohol dependent parents by allowing them and their parents to turn their lives around.

Reinstating this grant will provide children affected by parental alcohol use with access to the support they need and ensure that they are not forgotten, or neglected, but empowered to enjoy healthy and secure childhoods.

Read the full letter to the Chancellor from the Alcohol and Families Alliance.