Outreach
Street
Smart
‘At present I am
working with 33 active
clients, while 23 have
already completed
treatment and are
waiting for – or are
already in – housing.’
10 | drinkanddrugsnews | February 2019
The ISEU project is taking street outreach
to the next level, says Peter Burleigh
I’ve been going into hostels, working with
homeless people to provide substance misuse
support for Turning Point around the
Westminster area over five years, but the
ISEU project is different. This is outreach on
the streets and frontline partnership working
in Central London.
ISEU (the Integrated Street Engagement
Unit) includes staff from Turning Point,
Westminster City Council, the Metropolitan
Police, The Connection at St Martins-in-the-
Fields (a day centre run by a homelessness
charity), The Passage (which operates
London’s largest voluntary sector resource
centre for homeless and vulnerable people),
and the Compass team and street outreach
(St Mungo’s outreach services). It’s an
innovative project combining integrated
health, housing and social care support in
order to provide effective routes off the street,
with the goal of helping some of the most
vulnerable to turn their lives around.
We plan our operations for the upcoming
week every Friday, and these can include tent
removals, antisocial behaviour enforcement,
begging or tackling organised crime. On
some days there will be no specific operation
and we will go out solely to engage the street
homeless and offer social care, medical
health and substance misuse support. ISEU
recognises that enforcement isn’t the most
effective way to support people who are
sleeping rough, and that long-term we need
to be addressing the wider needs of every
individual. In every operation there will be a
minimum of two plain-clothed police officers
who are trained to work specifically as part
of ISEU, a city inspector, myself and other
partners, depending on the nature of the
operation. On larger operations we can have
teams of up to 15 people.
When we approach an individual of
interest, unless it is a targeted specific police
operation (where there is no need for
substance misuse expertise), I often lead in
approaching and engaging them into
conversation. Nine times out of ten, people
are willing to have a chat and are receptive.
In some cases we’re faced with challenging
clients who are treatment resistant and will
refuse support, and this is usually to do with
trust. Every situation is different, but being
cautious and confident is key.
When we are engaging with someone,
it’s important we try to find out the
individual’s name, age, whether they are
currently in a hostel, whether they have been
to a day centre, if they have any medical
needs and if they are having any problems
with drugs or alcohol. When we have a name
we can check this against CHAIN, a multi-
agency database recording information
about people sleeping rough and the wider
street population in London. This enables us
to see if the person is seeking any health and
social care support from services or charities
– if they are not on the database I will give
them the details of Connections at St
Martins, a day centre where they can register
for support services.
Since April 2018 I have engaged with 112
clients, with heroin, cocaine and spice being
the most commonly used drugs. Age and
gender vary – women often have more
complex needs, but can also be more engaged
with support. At present I am working with
33 active clients, while 23 have already
completed treatment and are waiting for – or
are already in – housing. Meanwhile, 18 have
dropped out and nine have been referred to
Turning Point’s drug and alcohol wellbeing
service to address substance misuse.
I visit Passage House every week, a 28-
day assessment centre for those who have
been sleeping rough in Westminster but are
not from the borough. Passage House is
designed to provide a safe, flexible and
supportive environment, and the service uses
a trauma-informed approach. Every client has
their own room and a designated lead
worker. You must be referred by one of the
outreach teams, but Passage House offers a
wrap-around service, working with people to
help them plan a route off the street that is
sustainable in the long term.
One of the main challenges we face is
reminding individuals that things can’t just
happen overnight. Getting the right support
in place for housing, medical needs,
employment, benefits and so on takes time
and often requires multiple appointments
that need to be attended. We are here to
support people in the most efficient way
possible, but this also requires mutual
understanding and dedication. If people
show up on time to appointments progress
can be made, but when people don’t show
up sometimes it means we end up back at
square one.
ISEU works really well because every
person and organisation brings different skill
sets and knowledge, with the same collective
aim and commitment to meet it. Prior to ISEU
outreach happened in hostels and supported
accommodation but the rough sleepers who
weren't already seeking any provision were
difficult to reach.
I learnt very early on in my career that I
have to be able to enjoy my own life outside
of this job and not let it impact my personal
life – that being said you can’t do it if you
don’t love it, and I have a real passion to help
improve people’s lives. I wouldn’t change it
for the world.
Peter Burleigh is an integrated street
outreach worker for Turning Point
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com