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as experts, know to be effective, and what the
commissioners require or allow us to provide.
So what options remain? Regarding statutory
commissioning, I for one am not convinced that our
long-term lobbying for change at high levels is
effective. So, on the principle that if something is
not working, instead of continuing to try harder let’s
do something different.
What we have learnt with the response to the
horror of Grenfell Tower is that grass roots
movements are powerful. Governments cannot
control them, and they often arise where
governments have failed. If we stop wasting energy
doing what doesn’t work, and concentrate on ‘doing
it for ou rselves’ by garnering support from the
public and previous beneficiaries of our treatment,
rather than the politicians, we may just be able to
raise enough revenue to create a treatment and
recovery system; one that actually works and is
more attractive than the uninformed, misguided but
dominant political narrative and broken, ineffectual
system we have at present.
Harnessing alumni and family members as
ambassadors and champions draws down potent
support. A quick look on Facebook shows the huge
cohort of fans of Broadway lodge who are eager to
help and promote the rehab that gave them or
their loved ones their lives back. By recognising this
loyalty capital and monetising it through events
and involvement, an authentic exchange of energy
takes place that delivers outcomes from
Broadway’s commitment to, and investment in,
treatment and recovery.
Negotiating collaborations with other, similar,
treatment providers in order to widen the referral
net and then allotting the clients fairly and
accurately according to their needs is a strategy that
depends on a trusting relationship that has to be
built between all players in the system. This takes
time and risk, but the results are profound and
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provide a win for all participants. Thus we develop a
network of collaboration, liaising and negotiating
cost savings and identifying nascent markets and
those with excess capacity that we can
collaboratively penetrate and secure.
Instead of remaining dependent on statutory
funding and dancing to someone else’s tune,
Broadway Lodge – working in concert with other
providers and collaborating on projects that identify
synergies, share efficiencies and extend our thinking
beyond the statutory realm – can deliver new and
exciting strategies that foster success and enable
everyone to shine.
When society improves, the people within it
improve as well. Linking with like-minded providers
who also trust this premise, and extending that
trust to each other, provides a powerful, self-
supporting system for treatment delivery that is
independent of government. It involves sharing and
transparency but the benefits are manifold. It is a
game changer and one of the ways in which small
and medium sized charities can survive and shine in
this very challenging environment.
We can maintain presence and power in the
treatment system, allowing us to develop a more
extrovert personality and a stronger voice
predicated on power harnessed through
collaboration. This in turn means that clients have
a wide choice and people with severe addiction be
offered full abstinence-based, in-depth treatment
that creates a platform for real recovery and a
fulfilling life.
To return to the two questions I asked at the
beginning: Can we free ourselves from the fierce
statutory commissioning environment in which we
presently work while remaining true to our altruistic
vision and mission, and can we use learning from the
profit-driven corporate world to inform our strategy
going forward? The answer is a resounding YES.
Caroline Cole is interim CEO of Broadway Lodge
‘We can maintain
presence and
power in the
treatment system,
allowing us
to develop a
more extrovert
personality and
a stronger voice
predicated on
power harnessed
through
collaboration.’
November 2017 | drinkanddrugsnews | 17