The day’ s second session focused on making the right connections between service users and housing, service users and commissioners, and properly connecting up data to get a true picture of what was happening on the ground
Session 2
Connecting the dots
The day’ s second session focused on making the right connections between service users and housing, service users and commissioners, and properly connecting up data to get a true picture of what was happening on the ground
Session two kicked off with a presentation from Phoenix Futures’ housing provision team, on how supported housing can make the right connections for people moving towards recovery. The 50-year-old charity provided services for more than 20,000 people a year and was also housing association, Vicky Ball told delegates. It currently had 150 rehab beds and 185 supported bed spaces across England and Scotland.‘ We own some properties, lease some from other landlords and manage properties for other agencies.’
Opiate users were generally people with very high levels of housing need, she said.‘ The advent of universal credit has made it very hard for this stigmatised group to access housing. Local authorities spend around £ 800m a year on drug and alcohol treatment, but if people come out of treatment with somewhere to live they’ re much more likely to sustain their recovery.’
‘ In residential services we identified that people were struggling when they went out into the community because of a lack of suitable accommodation post-treatment,’ said her colleague James Graham. In response the organisation had developed an approach that included supported housing, recovery housing and independent living properties, he said. Supported housing provided a safe environment for people who had just left treatment, with high levels of staff input.‘ There’ s support planning, guidance, advice,
signposting, advocacy, and lots of peer support and partner provider involvement.’ Recovery housing, meanwhile, had less input from staff as‘ by this point people are generally getting on with their lives in the community and have found a direction. But staff are always there if they need them.’ And finally with independent living, Phoenix were‘ basically just their landlords’, he explained. This approach provided a safe environment for people to develop all aspects of recovery capital and give them an opportunity to explore their future goals and aspirations, he said.‘ When people come off drugs it can leave a big void in their lives.’
Service user Julie Hobson told the session how she had come to Phoenix with a serious alcohol problem that had involved homelessness, domestic violence and multiple stays in hospital, and was allocated supported housing.‘ I had a housing support worker who helped me, and that gave me a stable environment,’ she said.
She now had a job and was volunteering as a peer mentor, while Phoenix had also helped her re-engage with her family. After 11 months she’ d moved from the core housing provision to shared accommodation with two other people –‘ the support is still there but we have a little bit more independence’. A support worker was onhand to help with areas such as benefits and community involvement, and she would be moving on to the independent living stage in the near future, she told the conference.
‘ Providing a safe environment for people to devel- op all aspects of recovery and give them an oppor tunity to explore future goals.’
Julie Hobson, James GraHam( toP) and Vicky ball of PHoenix futures’ HousinG ProVision team
10 | drinkanddrugsnews | March 2018 www. drinkanddrugsnews. com