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‘We first meet people
because of their drug and
alcohol issues, but if we
just did treatment we’d
only be doing half the job...’
of discovery
Her vision for Phoenix Futures is not to be the biggest but ‘one of the best’, she
states. ‘I want us to be really clear about what we’re good at and to deliver good,
local, responsive services so I can be sure that if one of my family members needed
these services, it wouldn’t matter where they lived, we could provide a service that
met their needs. And we wouldn’t say, after six months, “goodbye – go and find
someone else to sort out your housing and family issues, and you need a job but
someone else will help you with that.”’
*****
Phoenix Futures’ aim is networks of local services, some delivered by themselves
and some in partnership, that ‘really settle people on their recovery journey’, she
says, with the organisation clear about the point its job is finished, the person has
the confidence to out on their own, and the community – whether a recovering
community or the local community – takes over.
She’s expressed concerns in the past that the transfer to Public Health England
would divert money away from specialist services for vulnerable groups, but feels
that the sector now needs to accept that change is happening. ‘I think it’s a
challenge but I think we need to positive about it. Our day job is motivating people
to change, and we can’t be frightened of change.
‘It’s going to ask us to demonstrate and explain our services in a different way
and think about ourselves differently – how we contribute to the overall health
and wellbeing of those local communities. If we think we should be funded
because we have a right to exist then we’re not going to get anywhere. I think
there’s a real risk that we don’t respond as a sector to that challenge, but it’s there
to play for really. And if it creates a different response from the sector – “let’s think
about how we deliver a service that’s integrated into our local communities, so we
have closer ties with housing and we’re able to involve families and carers more in
the treatment of their loved ones” – then that’s not a bad thing, surely.’
DDN
November 2012 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 19
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Karen Biggs