• Implementing women-only spaces – spaces and times of day where men ( staff and service users ) are not present .
• Setting up accessible appointment times – for example , making sure that women who are the sole / main person responsible for childcare do not have appointments scheduled during half-terms , and not offering appointments outside of school or nursery hours or too close to pick-up / drop-off times .
• Offering alternative appointment venues – looking at other options in the community which might be easier to travel to – such as somewhere they already have other appointments at – or a place they feel more comfortable meeting in .
• Arranging for female workers to attend probation on a Friday – as this is often when people are released from prison , ensuring that there are female workers available for any women who need to meet with their local treatment service on the same day .
• Connecting with family support providers – for example , we are building relationships with Home Start in our local areas . really hear women ’ s voices and work together to implement change – our new audit will help us to do that . Together , we will be assessing what we currently have in place and , from this month onwards , we will regularly audit our services with women to establish what we are doing well and what we could be doing better .
As well as looking at areas of improvement and best practice , the Women ’ s Treatment Working Group shares learning about what is currently available nationally and where there are gaps in treatment provision .
At WDP , we had been talking with The Nelson Trust about women ’ s treatment needs , as they have a strong track record in delivering women ’ s services including women-only residential services . They had already identified a lack of women-only detox provision as a major gap and specific barrier to residential rehabilitation , as detoxification is often required before women can access these services .
While there are some women-only residential rehabilitation services and more in development – for example , Phoenix Futures and Ley Community are opening a site in Oxfordshire later this year – there is currently no women-only specialist inpatient detoxification service in the UK .
Together with The Nelson Trust , we were committed to finding a solution and are now addressing this gap by implementing a women-only inpatient detoxification . This collaboration draws on the respective and complementary strengths of our organisations , incorporates lived experience in co-design and development , and will involve the mobilisation of a new site in Gloucestershire , which we anticipate will open this year .
As part of this exciting provision , we will be recruiting for some new and interesting women-specific roles so keep an eye out . If you ’ d like to support or get involved with
‘ Having worked with WDP over many years now we ’ re really excited and looking forward to further developing a collaboration around traumainformed women specific detox .’
JOHN TROLAN , CEO , THE NELSON TRUST
the development of this new initiative , please contact me on anna . whitton @ wdp . org . uk . Anna Whitton is CEO of WDP
WOMEN SUPPORTING WOMEN – STORIES FROM THE FRONTLINE
What is good practice when working with women in drug and alcohol treatment services ?
• Working closely with specialist women ’ s centres – enabling access to treatment through safe women-only spaces where women can also access a wider range of support to meet their needs .
We are also excited to be launching a women ’ s coproduction audit across our services . We think it ’ s important to make sure that we
Are you working with women with drug or alcohol issues ?
Do you want to better understand what gender responsive treatment looks like in practice ?
Do you want to hear ideas to improve outcomes for women ?
Join Collective Voice on International Women ’ s Day , Wednesday 8 March , between 10 and 11:30am to explore good practice when working with women in drug and alcohol treatment services . The webinar will be chaired by Phoenix Futures chief executive Karen Biggs and will feature a range of speakers from frontline service delivery alongside lived experience testimony :
• Working with women ’ s trauma : practical tips and hints to help build your toolkit when working with traumatised women ( Evgenia Stefanopoulou , Turning Point )
• Voices of lived experience : themes and reflections from women using services ( April , Working with Everyone )
• Meeting women where they are at : examples from practice of creative ways to engage with women – from drop-ins to menopause support ( speaker tbc )
There will be a Q & A after the presentations , so please do join us to share your thoughts on this crucial topic .
Sign up to attend the webinar at https :// www . eventbrite . co . uk / e / women-supportingwomen-stories-from-the-frontlinetickets-533398959647 melitas / iStock
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