SERVICES
DIGGING DEEPER
Trauma is increasingly recognised as a central factor in the lives of people experiencing multiple disadvantage( MD). Individuals who have experienced MD are already among the most vulnerable in society, with challenges that include cooccurring struggles with mental health, substance use, homelessness, contact with the criminal justice system and domestic abuse. And often each system they encounter only looks at part of the picture – so they fall through the gaps.
Bridge the Gap is a radically different support model that’ s underpinned by taking a genuinely trauma-informed approach. It’ s also shaped by people with lived experience, and prioritises wholeperson support. It recognises that surface-level presenting needs are rarely the full story. Outreach workers undergo rigorous training which helps them establish what’ s beneath the immediate crisis and provide specialist interventions – they also spend time building a relationship with the client so that they can start to understand them as an individual. Through one-to-one support and collaboration with other agencies, they help clients achieve the best possible outcomes.
Crucially, Bridge the Gap outreach workers are backed up by a clinical psychologist who supports them with a range
It’ s very easy to talk about trauma-informed practice. But to be effective it needs to be a structural commitment, not just a value statement, says Helen Munro
of clinical tools. One such tool is psychological formulation, which helps create a shift from something that is done to people towards something we do with them. The aim is to build a shared understanding of someone’ s story, the ways they have learned to survive, and the meaning behind the difficulties they’ re experiencing now.
Teams are encouraged to ask,‘ What has happened to you? How did it affect you? What meaning did you make of those experiences? What did you have to do to survive?’ This psychological model helps heal trauma and gives clients agency over their own care and, ultimately, their own lives. When John * was first referred to Bridge the Gap, the picture was daunting. A military veteran with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, he’ d been sleeping rough for three years. He was alcohol-dependent with a diagnosis of alcohol-related brain damage, and had had repeated contact with police. He had no support network, no social care package, and was not engaged with community mental health services or on any medication. Beneath those presenting needs lay a lifetime of experiences that made engagement with con ventional services extremely difficult. Childhood trauma, compounded by the trauma of military service, had left him with difficulties managing his emotions, low wellbeing and experiencing suicidal ideation. He was isolated, frequently exploited by associates, and had a long history of unsuit able housing and evictions.
He had learned not to trust services, but what he really wanted was to feel safe, to have somewhere suitable to live, to have something meaningful to occupy his time, and to have someone understanding to talk to. These are not unusual wishes – they’ re also not things that a simple referral can provide.
Bridge the Gap’ s work with John began with regular outreach visits focused on listening and building trust. Meeting on his terms and working to understand what mattered to him, before attempting to act on his behalf, proved essential to everything that followed.
Once trust had been established, his outreach worker began advocating across multiple agencies. Over time they supported housing applications and accompanied John to appointments. They liaised with community mental health services, helping to arrange psychiatric appointments at locations accessible from where he was sleeping rough. They supported adult social care to conduct a needs assessment, and helped him navigate the financial and administrative challenges he was facing.
The results of this sustained,
joined-up support have been significant. John is now accommodated in permanent housing, and engaged with both community mental health and substance use services. But beyond the measurable outcomes, something perhaps equally important has shifted. He now feels that his voice is heard. A routine has been established that supports his independence. He is accessing learning opportunities. These are all markers of agency – of a person beginning to inhabit their own life, rather than simply survive it.
John had learned not to trust services, but what he really wanted was to feel safe.
The Bridge the Gap model offers a compelling case for what becomes possible when traumainformed practice is not just a value statement but a structural commitment. When services ask what lies beneath the substance use and when outreach workers are supported by clinical expertise, people who’ ve spent years struggling from crisis to crisis begin to stabilise.
Bridge the Gap demonstrates that with the right model, the most marginalised individuals can not only access support, they can begin to build lives they recognise as their own.
* Name changed to protect client identity.
Helen Munro is communications support at Changing Futures
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12 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • APRIL 2026 WWW. DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS. COM