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Intuitive Thinking Skills( DDN, July-August, centre pages).‘ I always wanted respect and a sense of purpose. Once I’ d left services that’ s what I set out to do – to regain my identity.’
He’ d had a heroin and crack habit and spent 20 years homeless from the age of 15, he told delegates.‘ So I saw quite a lot of things in that time, and learned a lot of skills. To me language is an incredibly important thing because I hate labels. I’ ve lived with labels all my life – mixed race, homeless – and I just wanted to return to my identity as a human being. We don’ t have to hold people to ransom for their past forever.’
The point was to use lived experience for power and change, he said. Twenty years on, Intuitive Thinking Skills – the organisation he’ d helped to launch – had almost 160 staff across the
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‘ Language is an incredibly important thing... I hate labels. I’ ve lived with labels all my life – mixed race, homeless – and I just wanted to return to my identity as a human being.’ |
ZACK HAIDER
country. It delivered behaviour change programmes,‘ but it’ s not forced – it’ s about them and what they want in their lives. We passionately believe that anyone can change and become a role model for others, for their family, for themselves.’
The key thing that he always stressed to people was the importance of getting purpose back into their lives, he said, something that could be achieved through Individual Placement and Support( IPS). This was intensive, and tailored around people’ s needs.‘ As we know, one of the
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big challenges is“ What if I do get a job and they find out about my past – will it be held against me?” Stigma does exist.’
SOCIAL INTEGRATION Gaining an identity in the workplace was incredibly important, he said, as well as the‘ clear direction of travel’ provided by work.‘ Everyone in this room has talent – it just needs to be explored. That’ s the whole principle of IPS. My self-esteem had been shot to pieces – I didn’ t believe in me, so I didn’ t expect anyone else to.’ Work provided structure, routine, responsibility and social integration, he said.‘ It becomes an antidote.’
While there had been numerous government employment schemes over the years, what was different about IPS was that it was voluntary –‘ so no one’ s forcing anyone’. Intuitive Thinking Skills’ IPS service was called i-SET –‘ as in, I set the goals, I set the place, I set the pace. This is not done to them,’ he told the conference. IPS was also genuinely competitive, however.‘ You have to do the interview and get the job – it hasn’ t just been put aside for people with addictions. So people’ s ambitions really do come true – if you take it seriously. I helped set up Intuitive 20 years ago and we’ re now part of an organisation that works in seven countries. If I can do it, anyone can do it – it’ s about re-setting that button. No matter who you are and what you’ ve been through, you have a right to your identity, your dignity and your independence. Let’ s focus on what’ s strong, not what’ s wrong.’
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COLLECTIVE RECOVERY CAPITAL‘ Inspiration and the desire to help are hard-wired human attributes, and a force that needs to be ever-present in our day-to-day work,’ said Jon Roberts from the Leicester-based peer-led social enterprise Dear Albert.‘ Part of our job as LEROs is to ensure that this is a collective, coherent, cohesive force – the harnessing of collective recovery capital from across the whole system, and directed as an energy for positive change.’ It was energy that needed to go beyond‘ the ferocious, energetic nature of hardcore addiction’, he said.
In his own journey out of addiction he’ d been given‘ time and hope’, he said.‘ Let’ s not forget to always be offering those.’ Bringing what residential rehabs delivered to much wider audiences in the community – and at a lower cost – was‘ precisely what LEROs can do, and we need to be doing. With innovation, quick decisionmaking, and while staying true to our values. Having the confidence that what we do can actually help’.
Addiction was a‘ warzone’, he said.‘ So how can we help in making the journey from war to peace? It’ s clearly a complicated question, and an answer will be found in us all working together.’ At his first DDN conference around a decade ago –‘ fresh out of residential rehab’ – there had been‘ academics, teachers, specialist doctors, MPs, prescribers, pharmaceutical companies, technological innovators, national providers’, he said.‘ And I thought“ this is big. There are huge resources available”.’
MAGIC INGREDIENT Lived experience was the magic ingredient that brought all the building blocks together, he told delegates.‘ Let’ s use it well. LEROs need to be building teams, supportive environments and effective programmes. In other
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