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n early 2012 Cumbria DAAT decided to go out to tender for a recovery-
oriented, asset-based service with one lead provider. Those of us
involved in Cumbria service provision felt it to be a forward thinking step
– we really wanted more people to get well and we liked how the focus
on recovery had impacted on other areas of the country, and the North
West in particular. It was also clear from consultations with people
accessing services that they wanted change too, and the tender specification
accurately reflected the needs of those surveyed.
Back then Cumbria, like many other parts of the country, was struggling with
the numbers in treatment. Having learned to bring people into treatment and
minimise harm, we were finding it difficult to move people through the system,
despite service provision that encouraged uptake of support programmes. We
weren’t wholly unsuccessful – the Straight Ahead programme and Bridging the
Gap were proving themselves as recovery building assets – but there were
question marks over the necessary visibility of recovery in Cumbria.
Obstacles to change included the geographical distances between local
communities, Cumbria being pretty much the same size as the rest of the
North West. It has a mixture of affluence and rural poverty, with pockets of high
unemployment in areas like Barrow and the west of the county, and some
significant housing challenges. Centralised approaches to working in the
diverse communities of Cumbria were just not demonstrating enough relevance
to local needs.
As a treatment system made up of different providers, we struggled to pay
enough attention to what happened to people who were leaving treatment and we
were not proactive enough regarding feedback that there was no aftercare
available. We supported the set-up of Smart Recovery but at that time we didn’t
have enough people at that level of recovery to sustain it. We had a lot to learn –
and still do. Our contact with, and knowledge of, 12-step recovery was sporadic
at best.
Cumbria had three main providers, covering prescribing and clinical, criminal
justice, and structured day care services. This created some really positive joint
working and some not so positive competition. Everyone recognised the
importance of keeping people who access services at the heart of the process –
but I am not sure that this always happened, however hard most of us tried.
*****
Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust were successful
in their bid to provide a recovery-focused asset-based service in Cumbria, with
a contract beginning on 1 July last year. For those like myself, whose previous
experience had always been with third sector organisations, it was an
interesting prospect. GMW senior management were very clear with us all that
recovery would be at the heart of the way forward and that we would be working
with an asset-based approach. It sounded exciting; in my role as a third sector
service manager in Cumbria I had already been involved with asset-sharing
ideas, particularly in Barrow, and had previously attended a John McKnight
asset-based community development seminar in Kendal. I am also in recovery
and the prospect of what felt like going back to my own roots in my work was a
really inviting one.
As the result of a consultation exercise, Unity, with a strapline of ‘recovery in
your community’, became the new name for the ‘one provider’ service. The name
reflected the need of people from the previously separate services to unify with
people already in recovery and those accessing services. It also felt like a
message to ourselves as we built the foundations of our co-productive approach
within Cumbrian communities.
Taking an innovative approach, and recognising that recovery networks are key
to people getting and staying well, Unity set up an asset building fund. This takes
bids during each year of the contract from groups and organisations that wish to
contribute to recovery and its further development in Cumbria. As well as this, a
new role of community development lead (my role) was introduced into the Unity
management structure. Its purpose was to support recovery development by
letting us share assets through joined-up work between people and services in
the community. We recognised – and it was also commented on in Cumbria
DAAT’s modernisation consultation with service users – that both drug and
alcohol services and recovery support needed to be relevant to local
communities. One size definitely does not fit all in Cumbria.
Different recovery groups and organisations with local connections were
already set up or were starting to develop their ideas. These groups were
encouraged to apply for support from the Unity asset-building fund – a great
opportunity for them and for Unity to start to build a co-productive approach.
Those successfully shortlisted would be invited to participate in a ‘friendly
Dragon’s Den
’ – a nod to the popular TV programme.
Key to the accessibility of the asset-building fund was Unity’s recognition that
the process needed to be very straightforward. Although bid-related goals were
agreed, these would be flexible according to the specific local requirements of
the group needing funding. Unity, through my role, and also the commitment of
the local recovery service teams, support all groups, whether they are funded yet
8 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| September 2013
Cover story |
Communities
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
How do you make
recovery visible and
relevant to a diverse
community?
Ashley Gibson
shares
Cumbria’s experience
‘What we try to do is listen
and support as opposed to
tell and regulate, in the belief
that recovery is not owned
but shared.’
Spreading
Roo