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local council, our staff used the
service’s minibuses to transport
local homeless residents to
temporary accommodation.
PANDEMIC COMPLICATIONS
Our housing support service has
been extremely busy supporting
service users that are being
negatively impacted further by the
pandemic. One was referred into
the service following the death
of his brother whose funeral he
was unable to finance. Our worker
liaised with the relevant housing
association and welfare rights
advisor to enable the tenancy to
be transferred, and an intensive
package of support was made
available. Had this work not been
undertaken, our service user
would have remained isolated
and alone during a heartbreaking
situation that was made all the
more difficult by social movement
restrictions. The implications for
his ongoing recovery are obvious,
but we are happy to report that he
is continuing to do well with his
reduction in substitute prescribing
and abstinence from illicit drug use.
One of our young service users
has particularly struggled during
lockdown and found it hard to get
into the new routine of not seeing
‘One of our young
service users
has particularly
struggled during
lockdown and
found it hard to
get into the new
routine of not
seeing friends...
and being at home
constantly. He is
classified as high
risk as he selfharms
regularly
and feels he can’t
disclose his selfharm
experiences
to other
professionals. ‘
friends at school and being at home
constantly. He is classified as high
risk as he self-harms regularly and
feels he can’t disclose his self-harm
experiences to other professionals.
He now looks forward to the
increased telephone and video calls
from his worker that are helping
him to manage his self-harming and
drug-using behaviours.
This example highlights the
recovery-focused passion that our
workers continue to share despite
the circumstances, and how we are
always trying to put the needs of
our service users first. One of our
workers spent time speaking with a
treatment-naïve individual that just
happened to be waiting in the street
for a friend that was attending
an appointment with our service.
This person was street-homeless
and had been using heroin and
crack since the age of 14. Despite
the strict guidelines in place to
avoid transmission, the worker was
able to safely organise an initial
assessment, as she felt that if the
person was offered a time to return
the opportunity may be missed for
them to follow through on their
apparent desire to access treatment.
He was extremely grateful for this
quick thinking and left the service
with his first-ever prescription for
substitute medication, and was
also issued with – and accepted
– naloxone. He was supported to
register with a GP and referred into
OCAN [Offenders with Complex &
Additional Needs] provision and the
DWP to access benefit assistance.
IT WILL GET BETTER
One of our recovery support service
users perfectly sums up how they
have experienced our response
during the lockdown: ‘I miss
everyone at Open Road and can see
how important the service is even
more now through the COVID-19
pandemic. I have always isolated
myself and shut myself away,
feeling like a burden or a pathetic
weak person who cannot even sort
themselves out. Open Road helps
me to feel like I am able and can try
again and not give up.’
To our fellow service providers
and service users who may be
reading this, things will get better.
Until this new normal allows us
to fully resume helping even more
people struggling with addiction,
we will keep trying to showcase to
others that recovery continues to be
a possibility for anyone that seeks
support at this most unusual time.
Jody Leach is quality and
treatment manager at Open Road
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JULY/AUGUST 2020 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • 17