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YOU…
Journalist and Brighton
councillor
Bill Randall
chaired
an expert panel, with
contributions from the floor
long-term multi-agency support.
Housing was an important element to sustaining
the recovery model, said Karen Biggs, chief executive of
Phoenix Futures – a housing association as well as a
treatment provider.
‘The model isn’t the bricks and mortar – it’s the
process of making sure people have what they need,’
she said. The power of communities played a huge part
in that, with meaningful interaction and relationships
a vital part of ‘recovery capital’.
A snapshot of Phoenix service users showed that 21
per cent had been homeless, 6 per cent were in full-
time employment and 25 per cent had been in care
(compared to just 1 per cent of the general population).
Interventions were vital, as service users tended
to think they could have little impact over changing
their lives. But alongside treatment, it was important
to increase ‘personal recovery capital’ through
building a sense of optimism, ‘social recovery capital’
through valuing the importance of relationships, and
‘collective recovery capital’ through realising ‘the
impact of good quality, decent housing that shows
that we value people in recovery.’
The organisation had developed ‘Phoenix Plus’
models as a way of taking treatment gains beyond the
treatment setting, an initiative that was supported by
‘an army’ of housing associations.
‘The housing model is the process – it’s not the
physical environment someone goes into, it’s not the
tenancy that they’re issued, nor their landlord,’ said
Biggs. ‘It’s the process of ensuring that there are
appropriate pathways to align what people need with
their recovery journey.’
There were plenty of barriers to overcome, such as
funding cuts and benefit changes. ‘But there’s an
opportunity to work together to create recovery
communities to take us past bricks and mortar,’ she
said.
DDN
Recovery Festival 2014 |
Housing
‘‘The model isn’t the
bricks and mortar – it’s
the process of making
sure people have what
they need.’
KAREN BIGGS
10 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| August 2014
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
HOW CAN WE WORK BETTER WITH PRIVATE LANDLORDS?
‘Each landlord is different, and that’s part of the biggest challenge. There are many different types of
landlords and many different types of businesses. You’re dealing with hundreds of small businesses in one
area, and that’s very complicated for many councils to understand because they want one person to deal
with. Having to deal with lots of small businesses is quite complicated and takes a lot of work.’
Gavin Dick, National Landlords Association
'When we were doing the
State of the sector
, we found
numerous examples of good partnership working between
landlords and treatment providers. They all fell into two or
three categories. Some happened by chance. In other cases,
there was a local landlord who had some experience of, or
sympathy for, substance misuse and treatment, then
worked with other landlords to build relationships. Finally,
some examples had been brokered by positive local
authorities and other organisations who had gone out and
made contact with their local landlords and built
relationships with them.'
Paul Anders, DrugScope
HOW CAN WE MITIGATE THE IMPLICATIONS OF
UNIVERSAL CREDIT?
‘DWP recognises that some people in receipt of universal credit
may need additional help to make and manage their payment
of universal credit. We have been working very closely with
local authorities to provide a support services framework
(published in 2013), to support people who need extra help.
The framework promotes partnership working between DWP
and local authorities as well as housing and voluntary sectors.
The general idea is that these partners working together
actually provide a service to help with budgets and can allow
payments to be made directly to landlords.’
Izzie Pragnell,
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
WITH SUPPORTING PEOPLE BUDGETS NO
LONGER RING-FENCED, WHAT DOES THE
FUTURE HOLD?
‘Brighton and Hove have completely protected the supporting people budget. In some places it has been
absolutely decimated.’
Bill Randall, chair
‘There is hope – new models are being put into place.’
Paul Anders, DrugScope
SHOULD HOUSING FIRST MEAN ‘HOUSING BEFORE TREATMENT’?
‘There’s a risk that Housing First is becoming “housing only” and that would be a very grave mistake. Having
the support is vital.’
Paul Anders, DrugScope
‘There’s very much an ideological stance behind Housing First. But it’s important to consider those who
won’t embrace treatment and their right to basic human rights around housing, regardless of whether they
embrace recovery. Good housing, wherever possible, should be a basic human right.’
Alex Boyt, user
involvement coordinator
‘Local councils need to look at the community and the bigger picture before rehousing people. In most
situations, the policies are not thought through. Local councils need the courage to actually engage and do
something about the housing problems in their area.’
Gavin Dick, NLA
‘We have been
working very closely
with local authorities
to provide a support
services framework.’
IZZIE PRAGNELL