March 2015 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 17
Promotional feature
PCP BEGAN LIFE IN LUTON
, Bedfordshire
in 2004. Following his own struggle with
addiction, Perry was admitted to treatment at
a prestigious UK-based treatment centre in
2002. There he encountered 12-step based
treatment for the first time, and upon leaving
treatment he had a vision to provide a similar
treatment programme, but at a far more
affordable cost to make it accessible to a
greater number of people.
Beginning with ten beds in 2004, the Luton
centre grew and moved to new, larger prem-
ises in 2006. In 2009, a second facility opened
in Chelmsford, followed by our Clapham
service in 2011. The most recent addition to
the PCP family is our 18-bed Leicester centre,
which opened in September of 2014.
All of our centres are quasi-residential,
meaning that treatment is carried out seven
days a week from 9am to 5pm, with service
users living in one of our residential
properties not far from the centre itself. We
encourage a family environment in the
houses – coming together to cook, clean and
support each other.
Following an onsite medicated detox if
necessary, the 12-week primary program at
PCP is rooted firmly in the 12-steps. The
majority of PCP staff are in recovery them-
selves, meaning they can show a unique
empathy and understanding in guiding others.
This then leads into the 12-week
secondary programme, which incorporates
a range of ‘experiental’ therapies, such as
Eye Movement Desensitisation and
Reprocessing (EMDR), Equine Assisted
Psychotherapy (EAP) and Emotional
Freedom Technique (EFT), among others.
Secondary is also the time when service
users begin to look towards life after the
structured environment of treatment,
phasing into a greater level of independence
– we set up memberships for service users
with a gym, and have links with many local
organisations and education providers that
provide voluntary opportunities.
In 2012 I began working at PCP. As an ex-
service user myself, and having experienced
the transition from the structured
environment of treatment to the often chaotic
world of social housing, where substance
misuse and related offending is unfortunately
often rife, it occurred to me that abstinence-
based supported housing would be a real
benefit to those in early recovery, giving them
a safe base fromwhich to begin their journey.
This led to the founding of the charity PCP
Chris Aitken
talks about how the Perry
Clayman Project (PCP) is meeting the
housing needs of service users in recovery
Top: Ex-service user,
Chris Aitken delivers a
presentation on recovery capital
to PCP Housing residents.
Left: PCP Housing
accommodation, Chelmsford;
Perry Clayman, who founded
PCP after his own struggle
with addiction.
Supported HouSing
‘Beginning with one shared house
of six beds in Luton, and driven by
a lack of safe, secure abstinence
based housing nationwide, PCP
Housing has developed into
70 bed spaces across Luton,
Leicester and Chelmsford.'
Housing in 2013. Beginning with one shared
house of six beds in Luton, and driven by a lack
of safe, secure abstinence based housing
nationwide, this has developed into 70 bed
spaces across Luton, Leicester and Chelmsford.
Individuals have their own room and
regularly scheduled one-to-one appoint-
ments with a key worker. The properties are
maintained to a high standard, and there is
no time limit on how long someone can stay
with PCP Housing – the amount of time
needed to be ready to take that next step to
independence varies from person to person.
We don’t just cater to PCP treatment leavers
– we also consider referrals from any service
that provides a structured treatment program
and feels that the person in question is in need
of safe abstinence-based accommodation.
Whatever stage someone is at, be it in the
madness of addiction and requiring a
medical detox, addressing their compulsive
substance misuse behaviours, examining the
underlying causes of their addiction, or
providing a stable environment in which to
begin their journey of recovery in the
community, we take pride in being able to
offer support through every stage.
