Tag: Drugs

Humankind approaches to drug-related offending and dual diagnosis showcased in first national drug strategy report

Jack Keery

An image showing an opened door. The humankind logo appears in white to the left of the door
Two Humankind services, Calderdale Recovery Steps and Staffordshire Integrated Co-occurring Needs (ICoN) have been featured in the first annual national drug strategy report for their innovative approaches to supporting people with a drug related support need.

The annual report is the first collection of evidence and case studies published relating to progress towards achieving the aims outlined in the Government’s 10-year drug strategy, ‘From harm to hope’.

Calderdale’s approach to drug-related offending

Calderdale Recovery Steps, a CQC-rated ‘Outstanding’ service which supports people who have issues with drugs and alcohol in the West Yorkshire borough, has been recognised for its innovative approach to supporting people arrested for drug-related offences.

Since September 2022, the Calderdale community has benefited from ‘Fine Line’. The programme offers a bespoke support pathway for people arrested for offences related to cocaine. Anyone who has a positive test is directed to a required assessment with Calderdale Recovery Steps. The support service then determines the most appropriate support for that person, including flexible group sessions and individual check-ups with professional staff facilitated jointly by Humankind and our partners at The Basement Project.

79% of people eligible to access support from the programme did so, with over three quarters of those not re-offending over an average period of six months.

ICoN

Funded by Staffordshire County Council and the NHS, Staffordshire ICoN, a partnership between Humankind and Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) has also been spotlighted. The new initiative supports people in the county with both mental health and drug and alcohol issues.

Dame Carol Black recently attended an event to mark the launch of ICoN, commenting on her 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.”

The power of partnerships

Both innovations highlight the significance of collaboration across criminal justice, health, and community organisations. The government’s drug strategy guidance for local delivery partners on participating in Combating Drugs Partnerships underscores the importance of this collaborative approach. Humankind is proud to identify ‘partnerships’ as one of the three key themes in our strategy Being Human. We are proud to see these innovations helping to build healthier and happier communities in the places we work.

Read From harm to hope: first annual report 2022-23

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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.

YouTube video player

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

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Humankind set to offer drug and alcohol support and treatment to people in Sheffield

Jasmine Rocks

Picture of Sheffield Town Hall at dusk.

We are thrilled to announce that we will soon be offering drug and alcohol support and treatment to people in Sheffield, having been funded by Sheffield City Council.

The new contract starts on 1 August 2023 and will be run in partnership with Project 6, a local voluntary sector drug and alcohol charity who have been working in the area since 1978. 

Greg Fell, Director of Public Health, said: “Sheffield City Council welcomes Humankind as our new provider of substance use support services in the city. It is important people in Sheffield can access the support they need to live happy and healthy lives. Humankind’s services will prove invaluable to individuals and communities in Sheffield.” 

Ted Haughey, Executive Director of Operations at Humankind, said: “We are delighted to expand our services in South Yorkshire and partner with Project 6. We have many years’ experience providing integrated drug and alcohol treatment services across the country and are looking forward to bringing this expertise to the people in Sheffield.   

“We’ll be working closely with commissioners and other partners across the city as well as listening to the people we will be supporting to continually develop and improve the service for the communities across Sheffield.” 

Vicki Beere, CEO of Project 6, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Humankind to deliver services in Sheffield. We have many years’ experience of supporting people in Sheffield to make and sustain positive changes to their alcohol and drug use. We look forward to being able to develop and expand this work, to afford more people in Sheffield the support to access recovery services and improve their wellbeing.” 

The new service will include a range of support including harm reduction, care coordination, clinical and therapeutic interventions. As part of our aftercare support we will continue to work with people who become abstinent to develop and reach their goals.

The service will also provide support for family members. 

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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-Leeds, St 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.

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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.

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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 Project, Create 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

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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.”

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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.

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Launch of Drink Drug Hub website provides reliable harm reduction information for anyone in North Yorkshire

Author

A graphic with a black background and white text which reads "Drink Drug Hub"

Not every person who drinks or uses drugs develops harmful patterns of use – but drink and drugs can cause lots of people lots of problems.

By providing reliable and accurate information, we can help adults and young people make more informed decisions, understand how to access support, and potentially reduce the harms they face. We can help family and friends feel less alone. We can help professionals feel more confident to talk about drugs and alcohol and provide effective support.

Drink Drug Hub has been developed by North Yorkshire Horizons, the county’s community drug and alcohol service.

The website, which can be found at www.drinkdrughub.co.uk, presents an extensive but easy to use database of articles, videos and fact sheets. Resources cover everything from alcohol and prescription medications to illicit drugs like cocaine and heroin.

Anyone in North Yorkshire can also attend free training or awareness events, and practitioners can discover learning opportunities provided by other agencies across our region. Sessions will cover topics like an introduction to drugs/alcohol and administering naloxone, a life-saving medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdoses.

Prior to launching the site, people who use alcohol and other drugs, and experts in the field of treatment, recovery and harm reduction gave feedback on the content, effectiveness and usability of the website to North Yorkshire Horizons.

The Office for National Statistics recently revealed that 2021 was the worst year on record for both drug related deaths and alcohol related deaths in England and Wales. Equipping people with knowledge about substances is an important way to reduce the harms that drugs and alcohol can cause.

Louise Wallace, Director of Public Health at North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“Drink Drug Hub is a really important resource for our communities. It will help to equip people across North Yorkshire with reliable information and will also allow our communities to engage with awareness sessions delivered by experts, and practitioners working in our services to book onto and attend training to develop their own knowledge and skills.”

Lee Wilson, Regional Director at Humankind, the national charity which runs North Yorkshire Horizons, said:

“We believe that people deserve to have access to accurate and up-to-date information about the drugs they take, and that’s why our team have worked so hard to create Drink Drug Hub. We’re excited to launch this new resource, which we know can improve health outcomes in North Yorkshire, and potentially save lives.”

Matt Bee, Specialist Training Facilitator at North Yorkshire Horizons and Drink Drug Hub project lead, said:

“We know that people are often overwhelmed by the amount of information available online about alcohol and other drugs, and it can be difficult to know what sources to trust. Our goal is to make it easy for people to access reliable information verified by experts, so that they can be empowered to make the best decisions for their own health and wellbeing, and that of their loved ones.”

If you need free and confidential information, advice or support with your own drug or alcohol use in North Yorkshire, you can also contact:

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‘Outstanding’ Forward Leeds has its contract renewed

Mark Hindwell

Staff at Forward Leeds pose for a photo outside of their Armley Park Court office

Following a Leeds City Council procurement process, Forward Leeds has been successful in winning the contract to provide the city’s alcohol and drug support service for at least another five years.

The service, with sites in Armley, Seacroft and the city centre, will begin its new contract on 1 April 2023. The initial contract will run until 31 March 2028 with Leeds Council having an option to extend after that date for up to five years potentially taking it up to April 2033.

Forward Leeds, who recently won Leeds City Council’s Partner of the Year, is a consortium between three charities: Humankind, St Anne’s Community Services and BARCA-Leeds along with the Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LYPFT).

Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s Executive Member for Public Health and Active Lifestyles, said: “As a Care Quality Commission outstanding rated service, it is really pleasing that Forward Leeds have been awarded this contract for the next few years. The service plays a vital role in addressing the challenges posed by drug and alcohol use to individuals and communities in Leeds, ensuring that anyone in the city struggling with drug and alcohol issues is able to get support.

“For some years now, Forward Leeds has consistently been one of the highest performing drug and alcohol treatment services in the country, and it is one of only a few services in the country that is rated outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC)”.

Victoria Eaton, Director of Public Health at Leeds City Council, said: “It is fantastic news that Forward Leeds will continue to provide the Leeds City Council Public Health commissioned drug and alcohol service, which offers support for anyone affected by drug and alcohol use. The service has gone from strength to strength, to become one of just a few drug and alcohol services to be rated as outstanding, by the Care Quality Commission, in the country.”

Operations Director of Forward Leeds Helen Cook said: “To be awarded the contract for at least another five years is fantastic. It reflects the quality and the hard work of the staff across our partnership and the commitment that they show in working with people who come to us for support.

“We have had to prove that we are able to continue to offer the high-quality service we have been doing and that we can develop and evolve our service to meet the ever-changing needs of the city.”

Humankind Regional Director Lee Wilson said: “Having our contract renewed is a testament to the dedication of our staff and volunteers who provide the highest quality of care and support to everyone who comes to us needing help.

“The service has had to meet significant quality thresholds in the bidding process along with due diligence checks on safeguarding, health and safety, finance, and insurance. These were all completed successfully with no issues identified. Our social value response was even given the top score possible by the council.”

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