Alcohol – Humankind

Humankind’s London Regional Roadshow celebration

Jasmine Rocks

90% of our London workforce recently came together to celebrate their work at Humankind’s London Regional Roadshow.

The first of the 2024 series of our Being Human Regional Roadshows took place in London on Tuesday 16 January and was attended by 90% of the organisation’s workforce from across the capital.

The day featured a series of speakers, including our CEO, Paul Townsley, who looked ahead to the future of the organisation as well as our Executive Medical Director, Dr. Roya Vaziri, who spoke about some of the great work happening across Humankind nationally.

There was also a focus on regional excellence and pride as the Director of London and South, Lyndsey Morris, celebrated the region’s progress and other people shared their proudest moments from the previous year.

The purpose of the event was to bring together professionals from the region to share ideas, celebrate the successes and look forward to the future.

Tom Colley from the Pier Road Project spoke about his experiences working with the innovative Ketamine Project in Bexley. There were other presentations from Liz Legge and Anita Leslie about the work of Lewisham Primary Care Recovery Service (PCRS) and Alison Beeton-Hilder who talked about some of the work which is taking place in our Better Lives Family Service in Islington.

As part of the celebrations, Lee Wilson, Regional Director, and Dr. Roya Vaziri gave out individual awards to colleagues who received the most recognition over the last year. Collective awards for team performances in the region were also handed out.

The day featured a number of interactive sessions for people to meet their colleagues and share learning from across Humankind’s services.

Director for London and South, Lyndsey Morris, said:

“It was great to see our staff from across the region come together to receive recognition and celebrate the great work that we do. Having some of the services showcase what they do reminds us of our impact on the people accessing our services and how we can best support them to have the best possible chance in life.”

Reconnected to Health awarded Best Use of Workplace Technology at Nursing Times Awards

Jasmine Rocks

We are delighted to share that Humankind’s Reconnected to Health Team have recently won the Best Use of Workplace Technology award at the Nursing Times Awards.

The Nursing Times Workforce Awards is an event that recognises and rewards the outstanding work that is being done by staff and employers to support the nursing and midwifery workforce.

Co-located with the Nursing Times Workforce Summit, the event inspires and rewards organisations for excellence in supporting the future of the health and care workforce.

Humankind and our partners Spectrum were shortlisted with His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and Lifeworks for the Best Use of Workplace Technology category.

Their partnership was recognised for working to roll out Breaking Free Online, a confidential treatment and recovery programme developed to support people through their recovery from drugs or alcohol.

Robyn Taylor, a service manager at HMP Durham, attended the Nursing Times Awards on 21 November and received the award on behalf of the team.

Jas Holburn, Area Manager for North East Prisons at Humankind, said:

“We are very proud to be part of this partnership, and this award reflects the power of collaboration between HMPPS, Spectrum, Breaking Free Online and Humankind to offer innovative digital solutions to people in our care in North East prisons.”

 

Humankind and Richmond Fellowship to merge to better support people facing multiple disadvantage

Jack Keery

An image containing the Humankind logo on the left and the Richmond Fellowship logo on the right

Richmond Fellowship and Humankind have announced that they are merging to form a single charity to better support even more people facing multiple disadvantage. 

This exciting development builds on the rich heritage of two charities that share values, ambitions and decades of experience supporting people with substance use, mental health, housing and associated needs.  

Derek Caren, CEO of Richmond Fellowship, said:

“Our organisations have a lot in common. We share a heartfelt belief that everyone should have a fair chance to live a life they value, and since our inception in 1959, Richmond Fellowship has worked hard to make recovery a reality for all.  

“Joining forces with Humankind will allow us to break down some of the barriers that stop people getting the support they need and allow us to offer innovative, integrated services to more people across England.” 

Paul Townsley, CEO of Humankind, said:

“From the very start of my career it’s been clear that drug and alcohol, housing and mental health support need to be brought closer together and work better for the communities we support. That’s why I am so excited about this new chapter for both organisations.  

“This merger creates a unique opportunity to develop new, broader service models, invest more in our people, and use our shared experience and insights to influence policy and practice across the sector.”  

Further information on next steps of the merger will be shared in the new year.


 

  • Derek Caren, CEO of Richmond Fellowship, is retiring in early 2024 and Paul Townsley, CEO of Humankind, will become CEO of the new organisation and oversee the merger.
  • Carolyn Regan, current Chair of Recovery Focus will become the Chair of the new organisation, whilst Caroline Gitsham, current Chair of Humankind will become the Vice Chair.
  • Aquarius (currently a subsidiary of Richmond Fellowship) will become a subsidiary of the new organisation.
For all media enquiries contact:

Humankind opens its first employment focussed drug and alcohol support service in South London

Jasmine Rocks

An image of Humankind's Individual Placement & Support team in front of Humankind's London regional office

We have launched our first-ever London employment-focused drug and alcohol support service in the boroughs of Lambeth, Lewisham, and Southwark.

Individual Placement and Support (IPS) services work with people recovering from drug or alcohol dependence and local employers to help those in need of support back into work at the start of their recovery. In addition to a wage, work can support recovery and can give people purpose and the opportunity to build new friendships and connections that can help them move away from drug and alcohol use.

IPS provides intensive, personalised support, starting with a rapid job search to help people find and choose the right job for them and stay in the role. By using a personalised approach to support, IPS helps people find paid jobs that suit their skills and interests within just weeks of being referred to the service. A key component of our IPS model is the ongoing support provided to ensure that once a service user enters the workforce, they are supported to stay in their role and build a life around it. Our IPS staff also work alongside employers, helping them to meet their recruitment needs and offering ongoing support throughout the employment period.

Cllr Jim Dickson and Cllr Marcia Cameron, Lambeth’s Cabinet Members for Healthier Communities, said:
“We are pleased to welcome the Individual Placement Support initiative to Lambeth. It is an important investment in our communities and we believe is the right way to make a real difference in the lives of those suffering the often hugely damaging impacts of addiction.
“Substance abuse not only damages individuals’ lives but also harms families and our wider communities. With specialist and trained workers in place, we will be able to now support some of our most vulnerable residents into employment which will help sustain their recovery and make positive change in their lives.”

Christine, one of our service users who was supported through the IPS scheme said:
“All of this has changed my life for the better. I’m busy now and I’m making my own money and learning new skills. I love interacting with the residents in the care home and I feel good knowing that I’m helping others. The support I received once I started work was really useful as without it, I may have ended up quitting because of any small stress factor. I’d definitely tell anyone to get help from IPS as the support is ongoing and so you’ll be more likely to get and keep a job.”

Now district councils from Southwark, Lambeth and Lewisham have all teamed up to tackle drug use and alcoholism in South London by commissioning us to provide a new service. We have extensive experience and a track record of producing excellent long-term results through other IPS schemes in various areas of the country including Leeds, Gateshead, and Cumbria.

Our Director of Operations for London, Lyndsey Morris, said:
This is an exciting new opportunity for people that use our services in Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark. Having employment can be a key part of the recovery process, providing a reason to get out of bed in the morning and boosting confidence, motivation, and financial independence. We have seen the transformative effect that IPS has had in other areas and our own fantastic team of trained employment specialists are looking forward to delivering this programme as part of an integrated approach to people’s recovery journey.”

Seamus Costello the borough Lead for Lambeth Addictions Consortium for South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust said:
“As part of our Consortium’s ongoing commitment to deliver excellent treatment and support for our clients, we are delighted to share Humankind’s ambition to ensure all service users have the opportunity to flourish in their communities, with help from Humankind’s introduction of an exciting new IPS programme across three South London boroughs.”

Northumberland Recovery Partnership joins Humankind

Jasmine Rocks

We are delighted to welcome the Northumberland Recovery Partnership (NRP) service into Humankind from 1 October 2023. Northumberland Recovery Partnership is a dedicated service for anyone in Northumberland aged 18+ who is experiencing problems with drugs and/or alcohol.

The service offers a range of support provided by medical staff, nurses, and dedicated Recovery Navigators. This includes community-based recovery programmes, help to stay physically healthy, and support with people’s next steps into employment, housing and better health. Twenty three staff and 4 volunteers are transferring to Humankind.

The lead provider for the Northumberland Recovery Partnership continues to be the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW) which, from October onwards will be working in partnership with Humankind.

Christine Hutchinson, Director of Community Substance Misuse Services with Humankind said “We are really looking forward to working with CNTW to deliver high quality services to the people of Northumberland”

The service will continue to provide the same range of effective, evidence-based support and wherever possible, people will continue to be supported by the same staff. The main change is to the non-residential rehabilitation service, currently the Oaktrees program / building. Going forward, this will be delivered using Humankind’s Recovery Academy, a bespoke recovery programme tailored to offer a range of recovery options. This will build on the existing recovery services, ensuring recovery is open and accessible to all from the start of peoples’ recovery journey.

Find out more about the Northumberland Recovery Partnership

 

 

Dorset Council residents continue to be supported for drug and alcohol use

Jasmine Rocks

REACH Weymouth team stood outside their hub.

REACH, which is part of our new South West region, has been successful in winning the contract to provide Dorset Council’s alcohol and drug support service for another eight years.  

REACH has been delivering excellent care and support for the people of Dorset since 2017. This announcement means that they can continue to embed themselves in local communities and provide a bespoke drug and alcohol service to people when and where they most need it. The recommissioning announcement is a validation of the high regard with which the service is held and all the hard work, professionalism and expertise of staff and volunteers.  

This is the best outcome for the people who need support for their drug and alcohol use in Dorset. Recommissioning REACH gives people who use our services much needed stability of treatment and continuity of care.  

Cllr Jane Somper, Dorset Council Adult Social Care and Health Portfolio Holder said: “We are delighted to be able to award REACH the contract to deliver drugs and alcohol support services in the Dorset Council area. 

“We have had a great partnership so far and we look forward to continuing to deliver services together to help those residents who need support with substance misuse. 

“It is also great news that those residents in our treatment services already will see no difference in their current recovery journeys with having REACH continue their fantastic work in the county. 

The new contract starts on 1 November 2023, and remains a fully integrated service for young people, adults and families. The service for young people under the age of 25 is run in partnership with Essential Drug and Alcohol Service (EDAS) and clinical delivery is led by Avon and Wiltshire Partnership Trust (AWP).

There is a specialist family team within REACH that works with the whole family. In addition, the service works in harmony with Dorset Social Care and NHS England through the Safeguarding Families Together team and the Mental Health Treatment Requirement service. 

Ted Haughey, Executive Director of Operations at Humankind, said: “This is great news for Dorset. REACH is a service that is genuinely embedded in and part of its local community. In March, Humankind launched an ambitious five year strategy, Being Human, which contains the three key themes of people, partnerships and place. REACH embodies our commitment to the provision of bespoke services woven into Dorset’s community fabric and shaped around the needs of local people. There is rightly a genuine hope, optimism and excitement about REACH’s future.”  

Humankind is a national charity which supports over 90,000 people every year. Our services stretch from Dorchester to Durham, supporting people’s complex health and social needs. As part of a larger organisation, REACH now benefits from connection, innovation and learning from Newton Aycliffe to Newton Abbot.  

REACH has developed a close partnership with Dorset Council over the past six years and prior to that ten years becoming embedded in the local community through innovative projects such as the first peer mentor programme in the South in 2009. This project became an accredited programme in 2011, as well as becoming the second service in England to offer postal naloxone through the web based NSPDirect service.

REACH was also the first service to offer postal Dry Blood Spot Testing (DBST) in partnership with the NHSAlliance and Hep C U Later Campaign which was just one small part of REACH’s exceptional covid response plans.  

“REACH has an ambitious vision of continuous improvement for the communities of Dorset in the coming years” said Beth Davies who leads the REACH service in Dorset. “We will maintain excellence in all our contractual and Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) targets. REACH’s end of year performance report reflects a picture of exceptional outcomes. We have met and exceeded all our contractual targets within the Humankind quality and performance framework, reaching the highest level of performance across all key indicators. We will be building upon these solid foundations, developing accessibility to services and innovative partnerships.”

To contact REACH please call 0800 043 4656 or visit www.edp.org.uk/reach.

Likewise launches to support people in Sheffield with drug and alcohol issues

Jack Keery

Two people talk to each other. The Likewise logo is placed on top of the image in dark red colour
A new service aiming to support people who have issues with alcohol and other drugs across the city of Sheffield will open its doors on 1 August 2023.

Likewise, which has been commissioned by Sheffield City Council, is a partnership between national charity Humankind and Project 6. The service will provide free, confidential, and non-judgemental support to people who need it.

Likewise is the second service Humankind has launched in partnership with Project 6, after New Vision Bradford opened its doors across the Bradford District in April 2023. Project 6 has been providing support to individuals and families affected by substance use and experiencing multiple disadvantage in Sheffield for over 40 years.

The newly established Likewise and New Vision Bradford represent a significant extension to the support Humankind has been providing to people across Yorkshire for many years, through other services like Barnsley Recovery Steps, Calderdale Recovery Steps, Forward Leeds, North Yorkshire Horizons and The Greens.

Every Humankind service across the country that has been inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has been rated either ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’, including its services across Yorkshire.

Greg Fell, Director of Public Health, Sheffield City Council said:Sheffield City Council are delighted to be working alongside Humankind to deliver the new service Likewise, which will play a vital role in supporting individuals and communities in Sheffield impacted by drug and alcohol use.

We have seen the impact Humankind have had regionally and nationally and are very excited to be in partnership with them to deliver the goals set out in the National Drug Strategy ‘From Harm to Hope’.”

Emily Todd, Humankind Regional Director, said: “We are proud to be increasing the support Humankind offers to people across the country and in Yorkshire.

“With the local expertise of Project 6, feedback received from people we will be supporting and our workforce, and the extensive preparation that has been put in to launching the new service, we know we are in a strong position to make an incredibly positive impact on the overall health, wellbeing and safety of the Sheffield community.”

Vicki Beere, Project 6 CEO, said: “We are very pleased to be working alongside a partner in Humankind, with a track record of delivering exceptional services across our region. We look forward to this opportunity to build upon our years of experience developing community-rooted projects to ensure more people across our city have access to support and recovery services when they need them.”

Likewise will offer a range of support including harm reduction, recovery navigation, clinical and therapeutic interventions. The service will also provide support for family members and continue to work with people in longer term recovery to help them create a healthy and meaningful life.

From 1 August, you can contact Likewise for free and confidential support or advice about your drug or alcohol use, call 0114 308 7000, email info@likewisesheffield.org.uk or visit www.likewisesheffield.org.uk.

Remodelling our alcohol support

Jack Keery

A blog post detailing our review and subsequent remodelling of the support we provide to people accessing our services for alcohol related issues, by Stacey Smith, Director of Nursing, and Oliver Standing, Director of Communications & External Affairs.

Dame Carol Black’s recent Independent Review of Drugs shone a welcome light on services for people struggling with their drug use. Happily, it led to a new Drug Strategy and much-needed increase in resourcing for our treatment and recovery systems (albeit during a cost of living crisis). Whilst these changes have benefited some people with alcohol support needs due to the integrated nature of many services, alcohol in and of itself was not including in the scope of the review.

When it comes to supporting people with alcohol problems, as a society, we have never got it right. Alcohol harm has been frustratingly over-looked by successive governments. Over four in five people in England drinking at dependent levels remain outside our support systems. Alcohol related deaths have tragically rocketed in recent years, increasing 27.4% from 2019 to 2021.

At Humankind we are proud of our work in response to this challenge, but we aren’t complacent about the levels of need that still exist. Our DrinkCoach online support platform has delivered almost 1,000 coaching sessions in the last year, with over 21,000 people receiving identification and brief advice (IBA) in the same period through its online test. Our All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) last week brought together parliamentarians in Westminster to hear from the Association of Directors of Public Health’s drug and alcohol lead Alice Wiseman and other speakers on reducing alcohol related harms.

For Alcohol Awareness Week this year, we are proud to say that we have taken the next step in our organisational response.

Alarmed by the increasing number of alcohol related deaths, low numbers of community detoxifications and increasing complexity in the support needs of older people accessing services, we brought together a multi-disciplinary team within Humankind to discuss and review our alcohol support options.

The group recommended greater focus on the full complexity of physical and mental health needs, as well as those of our diverse populations, a broader focus on alcohol treatment as a specialism and a new look at how we see access and engagement particularly from the viewpoint of people using services.

As a result, we have fully redesigned our alcohol support journeys for people entering our services, incorporating evidenced based tools for assessment and a range of treatment options based on need, choice, and health. We have recognised that we need to work differently, ensuring we develop partnerships to support the varied levels of treatment options, from harm reduction advice and information to brief interventions and community detoxification. We have developed specific pathways for older people and those in the criminal justice system.

Whilst this certainly won’t ‘fix’ our support systems in one go, it does feel like an important step forward.

Our early adopter sites in Bradford, Cumbria and London are now implementing the new model and generating the real-world findings we will need to update and optimise it for the rest of our services. Haringey’s HAGA is continuing its proud tradition of innovation in response to alcohol, which has existed since 1981. As the new pathways embed and evolve throughout Humankind, we will collect and share our learning, culminating in a Year One report published in Alcohol Awareness Week 2024.

Please do get in touch if you would like to learn more about the project. By working on structures within Humankind itself we aim to model some of the changes we would like to also see at a system level. There are multiple ways to bring those about, and we are proud to advocate alongside colleagues through the Alcohol Health Alliance, as well as via our APPG.

It is our hope that the welcome recent focus on drugs can be broadened to cover alcohol and that this, and successive, governments can demonstrate the leadership necessary to develop a comprehensive and strategic approach to reducing alcohol related harm and increasing levels of effective support.

Humankind set to offer drug and alcohol support and treatment to people in Sheffield

Jasmine Rocks

Picture of Sheffield Town Hall at dusk.

We are thrilled to announce that we will soon be offering drug and alcohol support and treatment to people in Sheffield, having been funded by Sheffield City Council.

The new contract starts on 1 August 2023 and will be run in partnership with Project 6, a local voluntary sector drug and alcohol charity who have been working in the area since 1978. 

Greg Fell, Director of Public Health, said: “Sheffield City Council welcomes Humankind as our new provider of substance use support services in the city. It is important people in Sheffield can access the support they need to live happy and healthy lives. Humankind’s services will prove invaluable to individuals and communities in Sheffield.” 

Ted Haughey, Executive Director of Operations at Humankind, said: “We are delighted to expand our services in South Yorkshire and partner with Project 6. We have many years’ experience providing integrated drug and alcohol treatment services across the country and are looking forward to bringing this expertise to the people in Sheffield.   

“We’ll be working closely with commissioners and other partners across the city as well as listening to the people we will be supporting to continually develop and improve the service for the communities across Sheffield.” 

Vicki Beere, CEO of Project 6, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Humankind to deliver services in Sheffield. We have many years’ experience of supporting people in Sheffield to make and sustain positive changes to their alcohol and drug use. We look forward to being able to develop and expand this work, to afford more people in Sheffield the support to access recovery services and improve their wellbeing.” 

The new service will include a range of support including harm reduction, care coordination, clinical and therapeutic interventions. As part of our aftercare support we will continue to work with people who become abstinent to develop and reach their goals.

The service will also provide support for family members. 

Forward Leeds director selected for international honour

Jack Keery

Dr Joe Tay, a Clinical Director at Forward Leeds, the city’s alcohol and drug service, is one of only four people from the UK selected to be a Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice by the US based Commonwealth Fund in 2023.

Forward Leeds is Britain’s second biggest multi-agency project to tackle alcohol and drug problems. It is partnership made up of staff from Humankind, BARCA-LeedsSt Anne’s Community Services and the Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

This prestigious international placement provides an opportunity for medical professionals committed to advancing health care policy and practice to spend a year in the United States.

Dr Tay said: “This is an incredible privilege for me, made possible partly due to the amazing work that Forward Leeds as an organisation undertakes in supporting people with their alcohol and drugs issues.

“I’m looking forward to learning and bringing back insights and experiences helpful to Yorkshire, and hopefully opportunities for national and international cooperation as well.”

While he is there, Dr Tay will share his experiences of working in the UK. Dr Tay will also undertake research related to his role at Forward Leeds and engage in a series of leadership development activities.

Humankind Executive Medical Director Dr Roya Vaziri said: “As part of the Humankind senior clinical team, Joe has demonstrated a relentless energy to advocate for the needs of people who use drugs and alcohol.

“He consistently brings a methodical, systematic, and analytical approach to developing new ideas and collaborating with colleagues to improve service delivery and pathways. I’m proud to have supported Joe’s application and commend his tireless work.

“We will all look forward to witnessing his Harkness work progress across the pond, and to welcoming him back another year older and wiser as a key part of the Humankind team.”

The Commonwealth Fund was established in 1918 in New York with the broad aim of enhancing the common good. The mission of the Commonwealth Fund is to promote a high-performing, equitable health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society’s most vulnerable.