Issue 5 Winter 2011 Two for One Two for One Two for One Alfred Hanson, NHFT and Linda Juland, CAN, talk about working in partnership Your CAN with Cobblers Your CAN with Cobblers Your CAN with Cobblers An update with the ongoing successful project working with service users I’m Dreaming of a Stress Less Christmas I’m Dreaming of a Stress Less Christmas I’m Dreaming of a Stress Less Christmas Top tips to keep you calm and cool this Christmas Proud to be working in partnership Umbrella Mag issue 5 v5.indd 1 20/12/2011 21:00
Transcript
Issue 5 Winter 2011
Two for OneTwo for OneTwo for OneAlfred Hanson, NHFT and Linda Juland, CAN,
talk about working in partnership
Your CAN with Cobblers
Your CAN with Cobblers
Your CAN with Cobblers
An update with the ongoing successful project working with service users
I’m Dreaming of a Stress Less Christmas
I’m Dreaming of a Stress Less Christmas
I’m Dreaming of a Stress Less Christmas
Top tips to keep you calm and cool this Christmas
P r o u d t o b e w o r k i n g i n p a r t n e r s h i p
Umbrella Mag issue 5 v5.indd 1 20/12/2011 21:00
Find us
Go green - download your copy onlineVisit issuu.com/umbrella-mag to view and download issues or send a request to [email protected]
CAN & NDAS SERVICES ARE PROVIDED AT THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS:-
Spring House 39 Billing Road Northampton NN1 5BA 01604 233 227
St Mary’s Hospital London Road Kettering NN15 7PW 01536 493 059
43 High Street Corby NN17 1UU 01536 201 973
41 Oxford Street Wellingborough Northamptonshire NN8 4JG 01933 271 879
Dantre HospitalLondon RoadDaventry01604 233 227
23rd December 9.30 – 2.00 24th – 27th December – CLOSED 28th December 9.30 – 4.30 29th December 9.30 – 4.30 30th December 9.30 – 4.30 Reopens as normal on Tuesday 3rd January 2012
23rd December 9.30 – 4.00 24th – 27th December - CLOSED 28th December 9.30 – 4.00 29th December 9.30 – 4.00 30th December 9.30 – 4.00 Reopens as normal on Tuesday 3rd January 2012
23rd December 9.30 – 4.00 24th – 27th December - CLOSED 28th December 9.30 – 4.00 29th December 9.30 – 4.00 30th December 9.30 – 4.00 Reopens as normal on Tuesday 3rd January 2012 23rd December 9.30 – 2.00 24th – 27th December – CLOSED 28th December 9.30 – 4.30 29th December 9.30 – 4.30 30th December 9.30 – 4.30 Reopens as normal on Tuesday 3rd January 2012
23rd December 10.00 – 1.00 24th – 27th December - CLOSED 28th December 10.00 – 4.00 29th December 10.00 – 6.00 30th December 10 .00 – 4.00 Reopens as normal on Tuesday 3rd January 2012
Dear readers, Firstly Season’s Greetings! Could we take this opportunity to wish you all a good Christmas and may 2012 be your year! It’s a changing world we live in and as we leave 2011 behind and enter 2012 we hope to continue touching lives and changing futures through our combined efforts. As you’ll read in the following pages CAN and Northamptonshire Drug and Alcohol Service (NDAS) are joining forces to deliver a bet-ter service to our customers. As we head towards 2012 it’s a worrying time for all of us, and we are fully aware of budgeting constraints right across the field. We want to reassure our readers we will be do-ing our very best to make sure that Umbrella continues to share with you news on drug and alcohol service provision across Northamp-tonshire. Umbrella will now be carrying the message of “Recovery” to our readers and will be, over the coming year, sharing news of local and national support services which may help individuals overcome dependency to mind altering substances, sharing inspiring stories from our readers, news on education, volunteering and back to work opportunities within Northamptonshire. A happy and healthy Christmas to all our readers, contributors and providers. Please keep your letters and articles coming and we’ll be back with you in 2012. Richard Lukehurst
Inside this issue
News Auricular Acupuncture 4
Insight: Howard B, Drug and AlcoholWorker, WSMS 6
Mutual Aid: Focus on AA 8
Mayday Trust 11
Features Linda Juland and Alfred Hanson talkabout the joining of services fromCAN & NDAS 5
Top tips to keep yourself calm andcool at Christmas 7
An update from service users and staffwith the ongoing work beingcompleted with Northampton Town Football Club 9
Input & Inspire Clients submit their stories, poemsand pictures 10
Why not follow us on Twitter?
@CAN72Northants
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CAN43 High StreetCorbyNorthamptonshire NN17 1UUTel: 01536 201 973
Umbrella Mag issue 5 v5.indd 3 20/12/2011 21:00
News
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Auricular acupuncture is, quite simply, acupuncture done on the ear. Auricular Acupuncture is widely used throughout the United Kingdom to treat people with a variety of conditions. It is commonly known for the treatment of smoking cessation, weight loss and substance misuse, and has been growing steadily since the 1970s. It is now considered to be an accepted treatment for drug and alcohol addiction. In Chinese medicine, the ear is seen as a microsystem of the whole body. On the ear, there are approximately 200 different acupuncture points, representing differing parts of the body and used in the treatment of varying illnesses or ailments.
The process of the treatment is quite straight forward and painless. The client has a small number (usually about 5) of very small fine needles inserted just under the skin of the outer ear. The needles are left in for approximately 30 – 45 minutes, before being removed and disposed of safely. While the client has the needles in, they are left to sit and relax quietly.
“Acupuncture has helped me with my cravings and depression. It has taught me how to relax and has helped tremendously with my anxiety. Quality of sleep has improved 100%! A general feeling of well-being. Thank you.” – Service User Auricular Acupuncture is a simple safe and effective approach which allows a large number of people to simultaneously receive treatment and improve the quality of their health and wellbeing. Results can be achieved within the first session, but regular treatments enhance the beneficial effects. Different clients report differing benefits from treatment. They include: • Improved relaxation • Stress reduction • Better sleep • Improved appetite • Reduced cravings • Clarity of mind and increased sense of purpose • Improved self confidence and positive attitude • Reduced physical symptoms of withdrawal • Relief from depression or anxiety “Acupuncture, I believe, has helped reduce my craving for alcohol. On the days I have acupuncture I feel relaxed. My busy head quietens down and I can think more rationally. I also enjoy and manage to get a good night’s sleep on acupuncture days. It’s good to know you can have some “me” time when you come to acupuncture and to not feel guilty about your time out. Thank you.” - Service User “I’ve been having acupuncture on and off for over 9 years and have come to enjoy the “time out” of a busy life. I’m approaching 9 years clean from all mind altering drugs and acupuncture has helped me to meditate, which fits well with the 12 step philosophy.” - Service User
Day and time to be confirmed CAN Derngate, Northampton, 01604 627027
Auricular Acupuncture“As a recovering alcoholic with degrees of anxiety and depression, I have found that acupuncture has contributed to my increasing well being and better health. Any initial cynicism or doubts about such treatment have been dispelled by a very positive experience. Thank you.” - P.D.
Umbrella Mag issue 5 v5.indd 4 20/12/2011 21:00
News
NHFT, NHSN and LINk Partnership
NDAS & CAN
Footsteps coffee mornings
NHFT (Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust), NHSN (commissioners) and LINk met in November, to explore more ways in which the views of service users and the general public could inform the planning and delivery of services. The first meeting was attended by Alfred Hanson, Director of Young People’s Service, NHFT, Pina Crofts, Service Development Manager, NHFT and Suzanne Johnson, Communications Officer, NHFT along with David Ward from LINk and Jim Connolly, Deputy Director of Safeguarding, NHSN (all pictured below). At the meeting it was agreed that the organisations would work with the Local CCG (Clinical Commissioning Groups) to highlight public health issues in the Northamptonshire localities.
Alfred Hanson, Director of Young People’s Services, NHFT (Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust) and Linda Juland, Chief Executive of CAN are working in partnership to improve the quality of service offered to people with Drug and Alcohol difficulties. Both Linda and Alfred agree that the partnership is working well and a new set of services including vaccinations for Hepatitis A and B, and Health Promotion Services will be launched by the partnership in the new year.
Alfred said “ an audit of the take up of vaccination services by drug users have shown that very few of the client attend when sign posted to GP surgeries, hence the decision to develop a one stop service by NDAS (Northamptonshire Drug and Alcohol Service) and CAN to offer vaccination at the point where drug users receive therapy.”
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From left to right:- Jim Connolly, David Ward, Suzanne Johnson, Pina Crofts and Alfred Hanson
Alfred Hanson and Linda Juland
Footsteps and UP2U coffee mornings are proving to be a great success. Why not come along to one of our forthcoming sessions at 81 St Giles Street, Northampton and join in the fun? All sessions begin at 10.30 and we would love to see you there.
Tuesday 3rd January 2012 - 10.30am
Tuesday 17th January 2012 - 10.30am
Tuesday 31st January 2012 - 10.30am
and then every Tuesdayat 10.30am thereafter
Umbrella Mag issue 5 v5.indd 5 20/12/2011 21:00
Insight
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I am a Drug and Alcohol worker based in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. The post involves assessment, signposting to other services, tailoring care packages to meet individual client’s needs and key working clients to help them make positive changes in their lives and most importantly giving tools that make these changes “stick”. Personally I specialise in working with clients on substitute medication and help them move towards a drug free life. My career within the field started in 2003 when I worked within the criminal justice sector in Hertfordshire. I became team leader of a DTTO program working closely with probation and prescribers within the statutory sector. Two years later I left the non statutory agency and worked within the NHS working in the “methadone clinics” as they were referred as then. In addition I worked with dependencies across the whole gambit of substances. In 2008 I moved “up north” to Northants and started work as a Drug and Alcohol worker with CAN, or more specifically Wellingborough Substance Misuse Service (WSMS). The model at WSMS instantly appealed to me, the “one stop shop” giving greater flexibility and convenience for the service user.
My reasons and motivation to work within the treatment field are as follows; personally I have experienced the pain, suffering and desperation of addiction and have been a service user myself. Part of safeguarding recovery is remembering the reality of what relapse really means and my work provides this. Additionally it means a lot to me to see people getting better physically and emotionally, to see the “spark reignite “in a persons eyes and the relief of being understood through the power of empathy. I am not for one moment saying that being an ex user makes me
a better drug worker, in fact those who have coped without the use of alcohol/ drugs are the very people that clients need to learn from in many instances. I have alluded to what are the best parts of my job. The worst aspects are when a client is not able to grasp recovery, to see the inevitable outcome ahead for a client if they continue using and being powerless to help in certain scenarios (especially housing). The stigma associated with substance misuse also occasionally leads to frustration and I see the fight against such ignorance as part of my remit. The NTA recovery agenda is a breath of fresh air and I never cease to be amazed at the infighting between the “ recovery verses harm reduction” elements as portrayed and voiced in journals associated within the field. They are NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE and are in fact both necessary to reach the goal of recovery. You cannot recover whilst dead. The quote “Are we being ambitious enough for our clients” hit the nail on the head for me because, as an industry, I felt that we weren’t and that the concept of abstinence was almost viewed as a dirty word. Additionally I failed to see how treating a drug problem with drugs worked for the client in a lot of instances. Yes it protected society but probably forgot about the client along the way. Here at WSMS we are in the process of helping clients achieve recovery through various means. We sign post recovery fellowships that are available locally, have offered Narcotics Anonymous the facility of our premises to run a meeting, have run recovery focussed groups and are looking at the feasibility as to starting a 12 step facilitation group at WSMS. We accept referrals from individuals, GP’s, hospitals, the community mental health team and social services. This is not an exhaustive list and we work with anyone aged 18 and over.
Once a client has approached our service they are advised to attend our open access service whereby they will be seen by a Drug and Alcohol worker. Open Access is the route into treatment and it is possible that our service will not be the best suited to meet a clients needs and they can then be sign posted to get the support they need. If WSMS are able to offer help and the client is ready and willing to accept it, a care plan will be drawn up and necessary referrals made once the client is showing the necessary motivation to make use of treatment offered. Offering treatment without checking motivation is setting people up to fail. That said a medical emergency or if there are child protection issues means that treatment can be fast tracked if deemed necessary. We work as a team and such decisions are team based. We are clear that WSMS are not providers of drugs and seen as “drug dealers” helping reduce the cost to drug users and thus enabling people to remain in their present predicament for longer than necessary. Clients can expect a confidential service and this is explained to clients at first contact. Clients are treated with the upmost of respect, will be shown tough love when it is required and supported in every way that we can to aid change and maintain it. Outside of work I enjoy time with my family, fishing and looking after koi carp.
Who is Howard B from Wellingborough Substance Misuse Service?
Howard B Drug and Alcohol Worker, Wellingborough Substance Misuse Service (WSMS)
Umbrella Mag issue 5 v5.indd 6 20/12/2011 21:00
Top Tips
Tops tips to keep yourself calm and cool over the festive period…. and beyond. Do one thing at a time. Make a list of things that you need to prepare for Christmas, and decide which is the most important. Do that one thing and forget about everything on he list for the time being. Then prioritise the next thing and so on, as you achieve each thing the rest of the list will seem easier. Take time for yourself, even if its just for 15 – 20 minutes it will help. Use this time to lose yourself in something completely unconnected to Christmas. For example, read a book, watch a favourite part of a DVD, listen to music. Physical activity can help try going for a walk. Pamper yourself with a long hot bath, and treat yourself when you are maintaining you goals, or have managed a stressful situation. Try some simple relaxation techniques. The simplest of all is breathing. Concentrate for a few seconds taking slow, steady, deep breath, emptying your lungs as much as possible in between each breath. Simple stretches can also help. You can borrow CD’s and books
on relaxation from your local library. Talk about your anxieties with someone else. Talking about the things that are worrying you can help you realise that some of them may not be so important after all, and help you to focus on one or two things that are the root of your worry.
Don’t place yourself under unnecessary pressure. At Christmas we often put ourselves under a huge amount of pressure – searching and affording the perfect gifts, cooking the perfect dinner, being with people that are stressful to be around. We need to remember we are not perfect and we shouldn’t expect too much of ourselves. Keeping things in perspective is important. Imagine how unimportant the stress of Christmas will be in a couple of weeks time, or even a couple of days!! Its ok to not be happy at Christmas if you don’t feel it. Write a journal and keep a diary of how you are feeling as a way of acknowledging it somewhere. In times of crisis, it can be difficult to remember healthy ways of coping. Many people in crisis do resort to familiar ways of coping. Making a plan ahead of time can be helpful.
Make a list below of 10 things you can do instead of using alcohol/drugs as a way to cope. After the list is completed, cut it out and keep it in a place where it can be accessed when needed. (I.e. refrigerator, cupboard, etc.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
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I’m dreaming of a stressfree Christmas
Umbrella Mag issue 5 v5.indd 7 20/12/2011 21:00
Mutual Aid
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Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organisation or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety. We in A.A. are men and women who have discovered, and admitted, that we cannot control alcohol. We have learned that we must live without it if we are to avoid disaster for ourselves and those close to us. With local groups in thousands of communities, we are part of an informal international fellowship with members in more than 100 countries. We have but one primary purpose: to stay sober ourselves and to help others who may turn to us for help in achieving sobriety. We are not reformers and we are not allied with any group, cause, religious denomination or ethnic background. We have no wish to dry up the world. We do not recruit members. We avoid imposing our viewpoint on problem drinking on others, even if asked.
Within our membership may be found men and women of varying age groups and many different social, economic and cultural backgrounds. Some of us drank for many years before coming to the realisation we could not handle alcohol. Others were fortunate enough to appreciate, early in life or in our drinking careers, that alcohol had become unmanageable.
The consequences of our alcoholic drinking (and thinking) have also varied. Some of our members had become derelicts before turning to A.A. for help. They had lost family, possessions and self-respect. They had been in the gutter. They had been hospitalised and jailed. They had committed many grave offences - against society, their families, their employers and themselves. Others among us have never been jailed or hospitalised. Nor have they lost jobs through drinking. But even those men and women finally came to the point
where they realised that alcohol was interfering with normal living. When they discovered that they could not seem to live without alcohol, they too sought help through A.A. rather than prolong their irresponsible drinking. All the great faiths are represented in our fellowship and many religious leaders have encouraged our growth.
There are even atheists and agnostics among us. Belief in, or adherence to, a formal creed is not a condition of membership. We are united by a common problem; alcohol. Through meetings and talking with other alcoholics we are somehow able to stay sober. We lose the compulsion to drink which was once the dominant force in our lives. While there may be other solutions to problem drinking, we know that the A.A. programme works for us and we have seen it work for every newcomer, almost without exception, who honestly and sincerely wanted to quit drinking. Through A.A. we have learned a number of things about alcoholism and about ourselves. We try to keep these facts uppermost in our minds at all times because they seem to be the key to our sobriety. For us sobriety must always be our first concern.
Newcomer to A.A.
Contacting A.A.If you need help with a drinking problem either phone our national help line on 0845 769 7555 or contact us by email: [email protected]. These services are staffed by volunteer members of A.A. who will be happy to answer your questions or put you in touch with those who can. Or for more general queries about A.A. you can write to our General Service Office:-
Alcoholics Anonymous PO Box 1 10 Toft Green YorkYO1 7NJ
Umbrella Mag issue 5 v5.indd 8 20/12/2011 21:00
Top Tips
Dave Sharp, CAN Volunteer said:-
Around April time I was asked by CAN if I would like to be involved in running a project which involved taking people who live in CAN houses to the home games of Northampton Town Football Club. When I started going there were only around six or eight guys who turned up and after a couple of weeks I started to get to know them and we quickly bonded. We started to build rapport and these guys started to tell me their stories and I found some of them had been parted from their children and they did not have many opportunities to take their kids anywhere so I pressed them
to bring their kids whenever they wanted to.
I worked through the summer on contacting those I felt might benefit from this great opportunity offered by CAN and Northampton Town Football Club and at the start of this season the number of guys coming had rose to over twenty. Word also spread around the NAASH centre for the homeless and we started getting groups of up to ten guys turning up from there and before I knew it I was having to contact the Cobblers to increase our ticket allocation to 30, then 35, then 40. We now have a regular support of around 40 people who turn up which consists of around 30 adults and 10 kids and many people turn up with bags of sweets and biscuits and it has turned into a real family atmosphere and it is just great to see everyone getting on with each other.
A Service User’s father said:-
Just to thank you and your colleagues at CAN for a fantastic day and get-together at the Northampton Town v Torquay match. My grandson, Brandon, had a birthday to remember, with not only having his 7th birthday announced over the tannoy at the half time break, but to get on the field with one of the young players
and kick the ball about. We will always remember it and Brandon said later it was the best day he ever had. These meetings at the football are lifting John’s (Brandon’s dad) spirit and self confidence after his manymishap. I would like to thank all the people at CAN and confirm that this experience puts everybody in a positive mind set with forward and uplifting thoughts and goals. Special thanks to the Cobblers, their staff and the players. Fantastic!
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Cobblers and CAN touching Lives and Changing FuturesA selection of people explain their experiences of the project:-
“We are delighted to offer some tickets to CAN clients to attend matches.“We have seen examples, time and time again, of how football can break down barriers, bring people together and unite people in a common goal. Football is also an excellent ice breaker, giving an ideal topic of conversation to those looking to make friends and to get to know others.
“We would much rather the small amount of spare capacity we have be put to some good use. We hope the benefit of this is twofold. We hope the CAN clients enjoy and benefit from their visit to Sixfields, and we hope to pick up one or two new supporters at the same time!”
Garth Wilshire NTFC
I’ve seen many people with various difficulties start to overcome them as a result of this project. People who had very little hope in their abilities who have now started to tap into their inner resources and achieve personal goals. This project goes far deeper than going to watch a game of football on a Saturday afternoon. I’d like to thank Northampton Town FC for their kind donations and support in helping CAN achieve its mission statement “touching lives and changing futures.” But my biggest thank you goes to Dave Sharp (CAN Volunteer) whose commitment and enthusiasm has never waivered in making this project what it is. Keep up the great work Dave! Richard Lukehurst, CAN
Umbrella Mag issue 5 v5.indd 9 20/12/2011 21:00
INPUT AND INSPIRE
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Stories from service users:- In 2008, I had been battling an addiction to alcohol for a considerable period of time, which had impacted on every area of my life. I was also in an abusive relationship, and was very low in hope, self-esteem and self-confidence. In December 2008, my then-partner attacked me and our baby son and was jailed. I was very distressed and my son was cared for by my family. I turned to drinking to numb the pain and take away the chaos in my mind. Of course, it didn’t work and things just got worse! Through my alcohol problems, and the relationship I was in, I had problems with the police and was on probation – and my probation officer got me a place in refuge in Northampton (I had been living in Kent). It was very daunting, but I knew that I would never sort my life out staying in Kent, as the people I was associating with were not interested in changing their lives. At the time, I thought they were friends but I have since realised that they weren’t. I had no family ties to Kent (and my relationship with my family was fractured because of the changes in me due to my addiction).I moved in February 2009. The refuge was brilliant, there was 24-hour staff cover and it specialised in helping women with drug or alcohol issues top of their domestic abuse problems.
Their knowledge of the local services was invaluable as well as the support, the company and the hope they gave me that I could succeed. The mix of services I was able to access was fantastic, as not every treatment will work for everybody: but I tried them all and got a combination which worked for me. I have also got some good friends in my time in Northampton who have shown me what friendship really is. There were many difficult steps to my journey including slip-ups and relapses but the support from not only the refuge, but places like, CAN and Aquarius made me realise that although it wasn’t going to be easy, I could do it. Now, my son and I have our own place, I’m at college, we’ve just come back from a holiday, my relationship with my family is good and improving every day and life is better than it has been for a long, long time. Best of all, I now have hope for the future!
Robert Johnmann has been clean for six and a half years.A former heroin addict, Robert, 41, of Corby, knows well how addiction can destroy your life. He started his recovery after being convicted of shoplifting. He was given a drug treatment and testing order and referred to NDAS, Huxlow House, Kettering, for cognitive behavioural therapy. This looks at the way you think and behave, how that affects your drug or alcohol use and how to change it. Robert says: “They use group therapy and one-to-ones to give you the tools to change your life. I describe it as like an invisible tool bag and in any situation you find yourself in, no matter what happens, you have the technique to deal with it. “The only way it works is if the person wants it 100 per cent and I was ready for that help.” Robert began using heroin about 10 years ago. He said: “It was the days of the dance and rave scene and I met a girl who was into going out every weekend. I met her again 10 years later and she was smoking. I tried to get her clean but I ended up on it with her.” At the peak of his drug use, Robert was spending up to £180 a day on heroin. He ended up losing his job and his health suffered as a result. He said: “I ended up at rock bottom. I suppose the only saving grace is that my family, who all live in Scotland, never saw what it did to me. “I never turned into an evil person. I never robbed anyone, the only crimes I committed were petty shoplifting to pay for my drug habit. “When my probation officer asked me my story they said I was the perfect candidate for a drug treatment and testing order. I was given a two year order and you have to go and see the judge every month. After a year and a half when I had turned up for every meeting and never failed a drug test, the judge stopped the order. He said he wished everyone responded like I did. “I was just so determined to get my life back.” Robert is now considering working as a volunteer to help other addicts. He hopes by sharing his story he can help others to beat their addiction by proving that it can work. He said: “Two-and-a-half years ago I lost my dad and a few weeks ago my best friend died. But I refuse to let any knocks in my life get me back on to drugs.
“I cannot praise the staff at Huxlow House enough. I think they see me as one of the successes. “I can honestly say I will never use again.”
Robert Johnmann
Umbrella Mag issue 5 v5.indd 10 20/12/2011 21:00
News
Mayday Trust works with and for people from all backgrounds and experiences but who need support to live independently. The charity has two strands to its work – providing long term housing and services to people with learning difficulties and offering transitional supported housing and outreach services to homeless people, people experiencing family breakdown or people moving from prison, care, or hospital. The charity works with people who may have issues with drugs and alcohol, who experience mental health problems, eating disorders, young mums and people who have experienced homelessness. Anyone can access Mayday’s services if they consider they want or need help to live independently. The Trust offers individual one to one work as well as advocacy, mentoring and group programmes focusing on life skills for independent living. Clients are supported to volunteer and get involved in Mayday as well as accessing education, employment and training through our partnerships and focus on community integration. The Trust’s new Young People’s Floating Support Service, based in Northampton was commissioned by Northamptonshire County
Council in November 2010. The service was established as an alternative service for young people who would previously have been supported by the Northampton branch of the YMCA. By September 2011 the service had supported 75 vulnerable individuals aged between 16-25 within the Borough to gain and/or maintain a tenancy and address various other support needs. Mayday Trust has supported these young people, who have come to us for a variety of reasons, to successfully maintain tenancies and prevent repeat homelessness. None of those supported by Mayday lost their homes. Pat McArdle, Chief Executive said: “The greatest success of this new project is in the young people seeing their own successes and achievements and progressing in ways that they previously did not see possible.” She added: “This service provides evidence that even the most challenging young people can turn their lives around: get into training and employment, become active citizens and reduce harmful and destructive behaviours with minimum support from a professional team using a proven assertive outreach approach.”
Building Futures: Four young people from Northampton have recently starred in a short film, highlighting the new service. The film, which will be formally unveiled at a special celebration event next week, is also available to view at http://vimeo.com/channels/maydaytrust#32666465 During the film, Hannah comments: “I feel like I’m getting more independent. If I look back to two years ago I wouldn’t really have done anything for myself. I didn’t really want to do anything at all. I wanted everyone to do stuff for me whereas now I will do stuff for myself.” Another client, Chris, added: “I wouldn’t have learnt about bills that well. I’d get the letter; I’d put it in the cupboard and forget about it until I got another one. Since living on my own I’ve come to grips with that you have to pay your bills, you have to keep up to date with your bills. Now my paperwork’s all up to date, it’s all sorted and in order.” For more information about Mayday Trust please visit www.maydaytrust.org.uk or e-mail [email protected]
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New service for marginalised young people exceeds expectations. More than 75 young people have been supported by Mayday Trust to maintain their own tenancies over the past twelve months
Umbrella Mag issue 5 v5.indd 11 20/12/2011 21:00
Become aVolunteer
Be involved
For more information please call our volunteer co-ordinator on 01536 494775
Are you . . . Motivated to help with others?
Able to give a minimum of 1 hour a week of your time?
