The Big Lottery Fund
has recently announced a
significant investment in coordinated services for
people struggling with severe exclusions, namely
homelessness, reoffending, mental ill health and
substance use. There are an estimated 60,000
adults facing these multiple and complex needs at
any one time in England. These adults, whose drug
or alcohol use and mental health problem are often
exacerbated by their lack of somewhere to sleep or
being repeat offenders, also often get moved
between services and lost in the bureaucracy. This
focus has got me thinking again of how families cope with these often very
significant and severe problems and how the failure of services to respond can
tear relationships and families apart.
As Adfam has highlighted in the past, families living with someone with
multiple needs can experience confusion, isolation and distress. We know those
affected by multiple needs experience intractable problems: increased risk of
suicide, aggression/violence, crime, homelessness, a greater risk of HIV infection
and poor social outcomes. We also know that there is a lack of coordinated
provision for those affected by dual diagnosis and their families, as this group
tends to fall between gaps in services. The devastating impact on families
affected is, in part, due to the fact that neither support services for carers of
those with drug/alcohol problems nor services for carers of people with mental
health problems respond fully to the complexity of their experiences.
Families often report feeling frustrated at the rigid boundaries some
services apply to their provision and are often left confused about where indeed
they can get help. Many family members are supportive and often have vital
insights into their loved ones’ behaviour, which may provide professionals with
a clearer picture. However family members report that they simply don’t feel
listened to by some professionals and that the barrier of confidentiality
prevents them from being heard.
As one family member wrote, ‘The frustration can be massive – going
around in circles, being pushed from here to there, waiting for weeks between
appointments, unanswered letters, unreturned calls, and all the time being told
“we cannot talk to you – it’s confidential”. Imagine hearing the words “my
hands are tied” when you are desperate for help because you can clearly see
someone at risk.’
In our communications with family members and the services that support
them, it is very clear that there is an urgent need to support families facing this
issue. It is clear that family members and those working with them find it
difficult to negotiate the number of – often uncoordinated – services involved.
There is also a clear need for better information for family members to enable
them to navigate and advocate within the complex service systems. Often
family members are very isolated and frequently stigmatised due to the
multiple exclusions their loved one faces, and suffer extreme frustration and
distress trying to help curb the chaos and damage caused by multiple needs.
As another family member said, ‘We have the services – it’s the connecting,
sharing training and a willingness to work together that I know would make a
huge difference. It was a journey we will never forget.’
Joss Smith is director of policy and regional development at Adfam,
www.adfam.org.uk
Families First, the Adfam/DDN families conference is on 15 November in
Birmingham. Details at www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
FAMILY MATTERS
August 2012 |
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www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
Recovery |
Family matters
time at the shop when they are on the fifth of the 12 steps, and learn about all
parts of the business while interacting with customers.
Near the harbour, the garage is thriving – both as a business and a recovery hub
– thanks to a partnership created with the owner and Suffolk DAT. Men and women
from East Coast Recovery are supported in doing their apprenticeships, learning
everything about mechanics, from stripping down a car and trading parts to sales
and accounts. There’s also a strong community element – a recent recovery event
at the garage attracted 60 people, helping to secure the local support network.
As we arrive at the garage, salesman Graham has just concluded a new
transaction and watched a satisfied customer drive off. He explains that he is
about to move into ‘third stage living’ with East Coast Recovery – moving out of the
rehab to live completely independently, but within the ‘recovery eco-system’.
‘A life beyond your wildest dreams needn’t mean a holiday in Hawaii,’ he says,
as he talks about his excitement at his forthcoming trip back to Scotland for a
family wedding, his first time back in six months. Working within the community has
given him enough support to regain his confidence and independence, and a sense
of normality that he thought had deserted him.
‘The garage is a fantastic opportunity,’ adds Farnham. ‘It’s like starting society
again – creating society within society, and that will open up other avenues and
opportunities. But there are more people than opportunities at the moment, which
is why we’re trying to grow these pathways through more investment and
partnerships.’ Helping people to move beyond treatment into sustainable
employment in the community will help ease this bottleneck and open doors for
other clients, he says.
East Coast Recovery is already working in partnership with local organisations,
such as WDP and Open Road, to make sure clients have the strongest support
possible, and using different organisations’ expertise on criminal justice and
psychosocial issues. The idea is to keep linking in with like-minded partners to give
people the four or five years they need in the recovery community.
Longer term, the hope is that the partnership working on recovery will become
more unified, says Wheeler. ‘There are lots of pockets of people around the
country doing this stuff, but they’re not linked in yet so there’s not much overall
clarity. Our hope is for us to be part of an organic recovery eco-system – that’d
be beautiful!’ DDN
A NEED TO CONNECT
Family members are too often isolated behind a
barrier of confidentiality, says Joss Smith