that I supported . So when opportunities arose I thought , ‘ If I can manage a service or a team , I can influence more people and help more people become well ’. WithYou trusts that its heads of services can run them and make a change .
WHAT DOES A TYPICAL DAY LOOK LIKE ? I cover the full Redcar and Cleveland area . We have numerous hubs covering towns , seaside areas , and rural areas , and I tend to float between the hubs I ’ m in . I like to spend time with my staff and understand the problems they ’ ve got , because I can ’ t support them when they raise their concerns if I don ’ t understand . On a Friday I tend to keep my diary as light as possible , and the staff will come and have a chat . They ’ ll ask me for updates , give me ideas , and tell me about client concerns . I like to think that I ’ m still very much linked to the frontline of the service .
We do so much more behind the scenes ... because people genuinely are in crisis and they don ’ t know where to go . I think sometimes that we as a service hold that key to reaching out to people .
TELL US ABOUT YOUR WORK ENVIRONMENT A lot of our work includes our partnership service THRIVE , which consists of Harbour ( a domestic abuse service ), Intuitive Thinking Skills ( who provide substance use related educational opportunities ), and different elements of the local authority . A big part of my role is representing WithYou to our various partners . I get to influence other local projects and continue to promote our service – challenging the bias and stigma that still exists – and push for wider system change outside of the WithYou world . I enjoy that element .
Working in partnership means we ’ re in a really good position to be able to challenge each other as stakeholders and better meet the needs of the community , because although WithYou is drugs and alcohol at our core , we are so much more than that .
Recently one of my staff did a home visit to a client that she had huge concerns about because she hadn ’ t heard from him . He didn ’ t answer the door so she went to the neighbour , who let her in . It turned out that our client hadn ’ t been in touch because he had no money and his electricity had been turned off . He was sat in the cold and dark and because he didn ’ t have money , he couldn ’ t use his phone . My staff member called the utility company , explained what had happened and got his utilities turned back on .
We do so much more behind the scenes , and that needs to continue to evolve and grow , because people genuinely are in crisis and they don ’ t know where to go . I think sometimes that we as a service hold that key to reaching out to people .
WHAT DO YOU FIND MOST REWARDING ? I really like to be able to support staff ideas and the changes they want . A recovery worker once said to me , ‘ If we sit still , the world will keep turning around us .’ It ’ s for us to get up and move with that world . I want to foster an environment where people come to me with ideas and say , ‘ I think this is needed . Can I do this ?’
A staff member came to me and said , ‘ Can I swap my caseload round and just have opiates ? Because I ’ m really enjoying working with them .’ If that ’ s your passion , your interest , go for it . It ’ s nice to
WHAT ’ S YOUR ADVICE FOR ANYONE CONSIDERING A SIMILAR CAREER ...
Give it a go . Even if you don ’ t like it , you will form an opinion about this field , and that conversation will carry on wherever you go . You don ’ t need to have a background in drugs and alcohol – you need to have compassion for our client group and want to make a change . If you ’ re happy to be challenged and take on a challenge , it ’ s the job for you .
be able to support people in that capacity , because if you make your staff happy , you retain your staff – and if you retain your staff , there ’ s better relationships with clients and better outcomes . From December ’ 22 to December ’ 23 we didn ’ t lose any members of staff in Redcar . In December ’ 23 we had staff leave , but those staff members came back to us within eight months and one of them said that returning had been like coming home . I have some incredible staff with amazing stories and loads of skills to give , and I ’ m in a position to support that .
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO CHANGE ? I ’ d like to change the conversation around drug and alcohol support – for people you pass on the street , shop workers , bus drivers , people who sometimes find it easy to judge the clients who we ’ re supporting .
Most people have a story about someone they know who died from alcohol , or someone who used too many prescription drugs after an operation . But for some reason , the disparity between everyday conversation and the conversation about our client group is quite vast . There ’ s a big gap there , and I ’ d love to be able to bring it closer together .
I also want to continue developing the service to intervene and reach out to people before they need our help – before they fall into the river and need pulling out . Our young people ’ s service attends schools and colleges and speaks to children as young as nine and ten about healthy relationships and substance use , in an age-appropriate manner . If we educate young people , they ’ ll be able to tell their parents / carers and other children , and as they ’ re teaching and spreading the word , they ’ re retaining the information more , and it ’ s going to have more of an impact on them later in life .
They may still go on to try a substance , but if they ’ re aware of the risk , it might only be a try and not become a dependence . They might then know how to keep their mum and dad safe if they find tablets , and if their friends or other teenagers get into trouble with alcohol they ’ ll know to phone 999 . If we ’ re not having the conversations and not giving them the knowledge , we ’ re not giving them the opportunity to use it . And I do think that as drug and alcohol service , we have to be accountable for that harm reduction within our community . It ’ s our responsibility .
If we empower communities to have the knowledge and the skills to know where to go for help when they ’ re ready , and know what that help looks like , that would be job done for me . I could retire happily with that legacy . DDN
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