Tag: Training

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

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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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The apprentices shining at Humankind

Jack Keery

Two people working on a computer in an office

National Apprenticeship Week 2023 takes place from Monday 6 February to Sunday 12 February. With both Dame Carol Black’s Independent Review and the national drug strategy, ‘From Harm to Hope’, singling out workforce development as a national priority and essential criteria for success, we are taking the opportunity to highlight the achievements and aspirations of the 45 apprentices at our charity. 

Across our County Durham Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service, Liaison and Diversion, and Crisis teams, there are 15 apprentices with lived experience of drug and alcohol use, recovery, mental health, or experience of the criminal justice system completing a Level 2 in Adult Care. 

These apprentices were specifically recruited for their unique experiences, each bringing empathy, understanding and a range of skills to the role, which benefits the people accessing these services, our national charity, and the wider charity sector. 

Ben Fidler, a Peer Apprentice in recovery in the County Durham Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service, shared his journey, from volunteering to his apprenticeship, and how it increased his self-confidence. 

“Humankind’s positive approach to interviewing makes you feel like they are wanting to learn about you and your worth as a person,” Ben commented. “They go the extra mile to find the right person, and it feels great when that person is you! It is a really refreshing outlook.” 

Another apprentice with lived experience commented that “I have always been passionate about mental health and helping others, and through this apprenticeship, being able to help others makes me feel there is a more positive outcome from my own experiences.” 

We have seen great success within our apprentice programme. Nine out of sixteen who started in entry level positions after completing Level 2 or 3 apprenticeships are still employed in permanent positions. The apprenticeships have provided the others with the tools to make a positive impact in new roles.

George Bell began his journey with us as a volunteer before becoming a Peer Support Apprentice in March 2020. He described his apprenticeship experience as a great way to learn new skills and knowledge while being part of the team, and excelled in his role, securing a permanent position first as a Peer Support Worker and now as Peer Mentor and Volunteer Coordinator in the Tees Crisis Team.

Of his experience, George said, “The wider team were all very supportive and encouraging which is great for confidence building and also getting great shadowing experiences with different members of the team.”

Each apprentice at Humankind participates in on-the-job learning to gain the skills and experience required to develop their career within a supportive environment. Their work makes a real difference to the lives of people we support every day.  

The programme covers a range of apprenticeship standards, including Adult Care, Finance and Customer Service among others. The apprenticeship standards studied support our different services across the country, from community drug and alcohol treatment to corporate services. 

As well as apprenticeships for people looking to begin their career journey within the charity sector, over half of the apprenticeship learners were already employed by us and requested to complete an apprenticeship for their own personal development.

This includes 11 managers studying towards a Level 5 apprenticeship in Operations Management with Activate Business School. Feedback so far has been positive, and the organisation will support more managers to study towards the Level 5 Operations Management apprenticeship in the future. The apprenticeship is delivered remotely, fitting around the workdays of the learners. 

Roxanne Dark, Service Manager at Humankind’s Staffordshire Treatment and Recovery Service (STARS) said, “The level 5 apprenticeship has given me the ability to stay in the role I enjoy while working towards my future in the same working environment. It has helped me in my role as I feel I am a better manager and I think in different ways now.” 

We work with seven different training providers who deliver apprenticeships in varied ways, including with online platforms and face-to-face learning in a higher education or workplace setting. 

In addition to Activate Business School, these providers include Darlington College, East Durham College, Impact Futures, Kaplan Financial Ltd, New College Durham, and Teesside University. 

The apprenticeship programme is overseen by Humankind’s Talent Development Manager, Katie Woodward. Katie’s role involves developing the apprenticeship offer while working closely with services to identify current and future workforce trends. 

“The most rewarding part of the role,” Katie says, “is the opportunity to support our workforce, from volunteers to managers, to develop their skills and careers every day.”  

If you would like to know more about the apprenticeship programmes on offer, please reach out to Katie at katie.woodward@humankindcharity.org.uk.

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International Literacy Day 2021

Jack Keery

​​​​​​​A Humankind service in Merseyside have been actively helping their residents with literacy skills.

Lesley Campbell and Jennifer Ogden from Sefton Homeless Services have recently refurbished a meeting room on site to include a dedicated lending library and reading area which residents can use if they need a nice, quiet and comfortable space away from their own flats.

Residents use this space to read, reflect and even write poetry or use adult colouring books as a way of clearing their minds and to have some “Me Time”. This can often be useful before or after key sessions to allow them to relax.

Since 1967, International Literacy Day (ILD) celebrations have taken place annually around the world to remind the public of the importance of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights, and to advance the literacy agenda towards a more literate and sustainable society.

Today, we celebrate, encourage and empower our residents, clients and staff to strengthen their own literacy skills. That can be something simple like making time to read a much-loved book or even taking those first steps in learning to read and write.

International Literacy Day provides an opportunity to reflect on and discuss how innovative and effective teaching methodologies can be used in youth and adult literacy programmes to face the pandemic and beyond. It also provides an opportunity to analyse the role of educators, as well as effective policies, systems, governance and measures that can support educators and learning.​​​​​​​

Further support and information for adult literacy

  • Visit the gov.uk site for improving your English skills, or call the National Careers Service helpline on 0800 100 900.
  • If the adult is employed and has access to a union, their union learning representative will be able to provide confidential advice. Information is on the Union Learn website.
  • You could also contact a local adult education college directly for information on courses, or your local library can provide support such as appropriate reading materials and reading groups.
  • Adults can also get literacy support in their role as parents, through family learning activity provided by colleges, libraries, schools and other organisations. Being able to become more involved in their children’s learning can be a powerful motivator to adults to improve their literacy skills.
  • Read Easy recruits, trains and supports volunteers to give one-to-one tuition to adults who struggle with reading.
  • The Learning and Work Institute aims to improve access to learning for adults.
  • The Reading Agency provides a number of free resources to help improve adult reading skills.
  • Learn Direct provides online courses and a network of learning centres. Call 0800 101 901 for advice and information on their adult literacy courses.
  • English My Way is a resource for tutors who support and teach adults with no or low levels of English, providing free teaching resources and tools to manage classes.

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Humankind expands successful IPS service

Jack Keery

A worker lifts boxes onto a shelf in a warehouse

Funded by the Department for Work and Pensions and Department of Health and Social Care, and backed by Public Health England, the Humankind STARS (Staffordshire Treatment and Recovery Service) was one of the first areas to deliver IPS (Individual Placement and Support) in community drug and alcohol treatment, from 1st April 2020 – 31st March 2021. Humankind has subsequently been awarded new contracts to deliver IPS in Leeds, South Tyneside and Gateshead, and Cumbria, while continuing our work in Staffordshire.

IPS is a ground-breaking employment programme which provides people with intensive support to find stable employment tailored to their individual needs.

STARS oversaw 87 enrolments into the IPS service during this time, with 55% of those subsequently finding suitable employment, despite the extra challenges faced by jobseekers throughout the pandemic.

While warehouse logistics and customer service/retail positions comprised the majority of those obtained by STARS’s IPS participants over the last financial year, job starts also spanned industries like health and social care, driving, administration/legal, production, trade, and cleaning.

The Staffordshire scheme even secured a stable self-employment route for a participant who needed to fit working hours around their family life after years of being paid in beer and food working in the “grey economy” with no permanent address.

It is hoped that the successful rollout of the IPS scheme within Humankind’s drug and alcohol services in Leeds, South Tyneside and Gateshead, and Cumbria will have a transformative impact on our ability to provide employment support to people who access them, while underlining the need for a multifaceted approach to treatment.

Humankind CEO, Paul Townsley, said:

“The success of STARS’s IPS work embodies Humankind’s mission to help people tackle their drug and alcohol use, not just through treatment, but also by paying attention to the social and economic factors which may hamper their road to recovery.”

Rosanna O’Connor, Director of PHE’s Alcohol, Drugs, Tobacco and Inclusion Health Division, said:

“We’ve seen over the last few years the transformative effect of helping people into jobs that they want to do. This can include financial independence, improved health and wellbeing, and the chance to develop supportive social networks.

“The expansion of Individual Placement and Support will enable more people to access this intensive, skilled but, above all, client-led form of employment support.”

Minister for Welfare Delivery, Will Quince, said:

“We know that drug and alcohol users in existing treatment, along with other disadvantaged groups, can face additional barriers when looking for work.

“The IPS scheme clearly shows people’s prospects of finding work can be improved, which in turn can lead to sustained recovery from drug use.

“We are delighted to be working with Humankind STARS to increase the availability of this highly personalised and intensive employment support in Staffordshire, and across the UK.”

IPS has eight key characteristics that distinguish it from most other forms of employment support:

  1. Paid employment secured in the competitive job market is the goal.
  2. It is open to all those who want to work.
  3. It aims to support people to find work that matches their preferences and interests.
  4. Job search and contact with employers are initiated quickly, within 4 weeks.
  5. IPS is embedded in and integrated with the treatment services.
  6. The IPS specialists engage directly with employers, building relationships to benefit their clients.
  7. It provides individualised unlimited support to the participant and their employer.
  8. Participants are given expert advice around welfare benefits to enable them to make informed decisions about work.

If you are a jobseeker or an employer who wants to hire one of our IPS participants, read more about our IPS offer.

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