STORM
London: A space
underneath
Tottenham
Hotspur
Stadium is used
as a food hub for
delivery of pre-
packaged meals
to the homeless
and vulnerable.
Credit: Simon
King/Alamy
virtual counselling,’ says Crompton-
Hill. ‘Some staff in our residentials
aren’t used to working digitally so
I’m really proud of how quickly that
culture’s been adapted, and we’re
starting to think about how we can
enhance services going forward.
Given that when we come out of
the actual crisis we may be left
with a reduction in funding, can
we do more in the style that we’ve
had to adapt to? But there are lots
of mutual aid groups operating
virtually at the moment and
what’s key to mutual aid is actually
going out there and socialising
with people in similar situations
– having that connectedness
and those one-to-one chats. So
although people have done their
very, very best, those sort of things
will be really impacted, so it’s just
trying to get the balance right. I
think we’ve just got to hope as a
sector – and fight a bit – to try to
get back to where we were in terms
of our offer and delivery.’
UNPRECEDENTED
The unprecedented operating
environment has meant that
organisations have needed to come
up with other alternative ways
of working. While the lockdown
has inevitably forced the partners
who provide the rewards for
WDP’s Capital Card scheme (DDN,
February 2019, page 6) to close,
the organisation is securing a
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‘We’re proud of
the way all WDP
staff have risen
to the challenge
with dedication
and innovation.
To say thank you
doesn’t seem nearly
enough... the fact
we’ve managed to
still provide an in-
person and remote
service has been a
huge success.’
YASMIN BATLIWALA
free-of-charge arrangement with a
national delivery company to deliver
essentials like clothing and hygiene
products from Capital Card shops
– normally located in services –
direct to service users’ doors. While
keen to return to normal operating
models, WDP will ‘certainly be able
to boost our offer with a lot more
home participation for service users
in the future,’ says Batliwala. ‘This
should really help the momentum
of recovery journeys between in-
service appointments.
SUPPORT
Although it’s been a period of
rapid change, the local authorities
commissioning WDP’s services have
been ‘extremely supportive, which
has been a big help’, she adds. ‘It’s
been a real two-way process –
there’s been a real sense of really
wanting to help us with PPE, for
example, which has been really
welcome,’ agrees Crompton-Hill.
‘We’re proud of the way all
WDP staff have risen to the
challenge with both dedication
and innovation,’ says Batliwala.
‘To say thank you to them doesn’t
seem nearly enough. The fact that
we’ve managed to still provide
both an in-person and remote
service in all areas has been a
huge success. We’ve maintained
very regular communication,
guidance and encouragement to
staff throughout, and have done
whatever we can to boost morale
in small ways such as pizza lunch
deliveries and ‘fresh fruit Mondays’.
We have also vastly expanded our
online support for staff, including
workouts, weekly wellbeing
webinars and tips for effective
home-working and coping with
lockdown in general.’
LONG-TERM IMPACT
What no one knows, of course,
is what the long-term financial
impact of all this is going to be on
the sector. ‘A lot of the work we’re
doing at the moment is looking at
the “what if?” and factoring in the
financial implications of that as
a business,’ says Crompton-Hill. ‘I
think what we need to try to do as
a sector is use what we’ve learnt
over the last month to see if we
can step up to what those financial
challenges might be, for example
can we do more digitally so we can
see more people? We don’t want to
have to do that because a lot of our
services run on being able to come
together, but we may have to.
‘One of the things I’m proud
of is the staff and their resilience,
and their ability within a very short
time frame to adapt their everyday
practice,’ she continues. ‘We’ve
been specifically helping with
homelessness. We looked at all the
beds we had available and with
every service that had a bed it was,
“can we help?” Everyone mucking
in together has been a real theme
over the last month.’
Another thing that the crisis has
reinforced is the vital importance
of effective communication.
‘Really open and transparent
communication has been key,’
she states. ‘I’ve had that from the
local authorities we work with,
and we’ve done that with all of
our clients in treatment, all of our
staff, partners – it’s really helped
us through this. I’ve never had as
much communication coming
through, and I’ve never sent as
much out. But I think that helps
people feel fully informed, and it’s
been a real key thing for me. You’ve
not felt alone in the process.’ DDN
MAY 2020 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • 7