No place like home
November 2015 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 11
Housing
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From its unique position as both a drug
and alcohol treatment charity and a
housing association, Phoenix Futures has
seen how pressures on the housing
rental market are affecting people with
drug and alcohol problems.
‘Changes in the housing world are increasing
potential for people with substance misuse
issues to have reduced housing options, either
in treatment or when they exit treatment,’ says
Phoenix Futures’ chief executive Karen Biggs.
At the same time, she points out, there are
opportunities to bring together the housing and
health agendas – ‘and if substance misuse isn’t
in there when those conversations are
happening, if we miss this opportunity, our
service users will be seriously impacted… we will
face the consequences further down the line.’
The charity’s new report (see news, page 4)
sets out a housing pathway, starting with
residential rehabilitation and moving through
bridge housing – which prepares people to leave
formal treatment – then into supported
housing where they develop life skills, and on to
recovery houses, and finally independent living.
‘This is what we think a housing pathway
could look like in a local area,’ says Biggs. ‘It
doesn’t have to be provided by one provider –
use it as a starter to look at what you have in
your area and how it supports someone as
they’re moving through their recovery journey.
Think about whether you are giving yourself
the best opportunity to create that recovery
friendly community.’
Phoenix are working effectively with
partners in different areas, with the aim of
making the housing recovery journey easier
and helping people with tough choices.
‘Leaving treatment, housing options often
restrict people frommoving at their own pace
and still getting the support they need,’ says
Biggs. Working with other housing associations
in some areas is proving effective in providing
housing – independent living is central to the
strategy they are now actively developing, and
this involves finding landlords who understand
about the recovery journey.
An understanding landlord can make a real
difference to someone’s chances, she adds, as
‘if there’s a lapse they can be open and honest
about it, rather than having to hide it from
one of the most important stakeholders in
their recovery. If there’s something that can be
done to support them in independent living,
that could be a conversation they could have
with their landlord.’
Biggs hopes the document will open up a
conversation between treatment providers,
commissioners and housing providers. Many
commissioners are already keen, she says,
while community services have also welcomed
the idea. Many housing associations also
understand the issues, but there is a challenge
in making sure these ‘don’t get lost’ with larger
housing associations. Seeing initiatives come
together can culminate in projects like Grace
House, Phoenix’s new service in London for
women with complex needs – the result of
many conversations around how hard it is to
achieve good quality, safe, stable housing for
this group (and their families) and how hard
it is for them to sustain
treatment gains.
Keeping the service user at
the centre of the model gave it
clear direction from the start.
‘We came at it from a service
user’s perspective,’ says Biggs.
‘We’d get them to think “what
can I achieve before I leave?” and
it’s about keeping that ambition.
Peer support also played an
important role: ‘It’s scary moving
on to the next stage, so it’s
helpful to see other people
who’ve done it,’ she says.
Establishing a timescale for
the recovery housing pathway
involves a balancing act between
being specific for the
commissioner and being flexible enough not to
impose too many constraints on the service
user, particularly as ‘things get harder’ for them
in the current climate.
‘Many of our service users have settled for
“not good enough” when it comes to housing,’
she adds. ‘What we want to make easier is
access to good, safe, secure housing and
provide a full pathway. If we put the same
effort into housing as everything else, it
would be the best option for maintaining
treatment gains.’
Building recovery friendly communities at
‘...if we
miss this
opportunity,
our service
users will be
seriously
impacted…
we will
face the
consequences
further down
the line’
Phoenix Future’s new report
Building recovery friendly communities
makes
the case for specialist recovery housing as a pathway to long-term recovery.
Karen Biggs tells
DDN
why this is an opportunity not to be missed
