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A message from our Recovery Services Manager, Andrew W
Over the last year, we have had to think carefully about how we can best support service users to remain engaged and motivated in their recovery in what has been a very different working environment. This environment has often led to a range of new and creative ways of working. It has given us time to consider how we can work to support clients not only during but also beyond the pandemic when it comes to recovery and supporting service users to complete treatment successfully.
Throughcare has been one of those developments, to rethink how we can best support service users to develop recovery capital during their time with us that not only enables them to move through and out of treatment, but also supports re-engagement with the community resources.
Throughcare was created with a partnership approach in mind, working with DATUS, KIKIT, and Intuitive Thinking Skills to provide a comprehensive and varied service. Our service users have a choice of Mutual Aid, BAME support, and accredited learning and recovery support groups that enable them to tailor their recovery support based on their needs at any given time. It's early days but the outcomes are positive! We are seeing that service users who engage with Throughcare are twice as likely to complete treatment and half as likely to disengage. We have high hopes that these outcomes will improve further as we develop the throughcare options for the future.
The pandemic has been a period of reflection for large numbers accessing our services, and we have seen 118 alcohol users engage in home detoxes with us since May 2020. As we look to the future, we have reviewed how we promote detox as an option: Detox will be discussed as part of all reviews going forward. Intuitive Thinking Skills are now providing motivational working with those who have been settled on low doses to enable them to consider detoxing. As well as this, our detox preparation work is more comprehensive and is provided sooner in treatment to ensure that service users are motivated, ready to detox, and have the right support afterward.
Going forward, we see this all working as complementary support to enable more people the opportunity to move through and out of treatment, and into their long-term recovery.
Back to school: University of Birmingham training
In July, the Change Grow Live Birmingham team was invited to host two training sessions for the student advocacy and wellbeing staff at the University of Birmingham. To help raise awareness of early signs of substance misuse, we tailored these training sessions to center around student and university-specific scenarios. The team spoke about signs and symptoms of substance misuse, focusing on the effects of alcohol, cannabis, and prescription medication on students.
For the in-person session, we brought along supplies from our Needle Exchange and materials used to promote harm reduction amongst our service users for the staff to see first-hand. The team also explained what to do when someone has overdosed, how to spot the difference between alcohol poisoning and being drunk, and how to advise students on taking substances safely. For Recovery Worker James, delivering this training session was a great way to share his extensive knowledge of drug and alcohol misuse:
Quote: I was quite nervous about delivering this training as it was a first for me. However, my colleagues were very supportive, and the University staff were accommodating which calmed my nerves. On a personal level, it has helped to develop my skills in public speaking and would certainly like to get involved in more opportunities like this in the future. Thank you to the University of Birmingham.
We hope that these sessions have dispelled myths and taken away the stigma around substance misuse among young people and students. We understand that post-lockdown more young people will be returning to city nightlife and socialising with new people. To help the staff prepare for these conversations with students, we shared our new #HelpYourMate campaign, an online toolkit for young people to help stay safe on a night out or at a party. The toolkit includes information about different substances, what to do during a comedown, and how to keep themselves and others safe.
The team wrapped up the session with a pledge activity, allowing staff to act on and support students experiencing substance misuse. All the staff in the sessions were asked to pinpoint where they may find drugs and alcohol being used on campus or in student communities, then create solutions to support students in these hotspots. The staff got stuck in and came up with great actions including, creating alcohol-free zones, adding substance misuse information to first aid kits, spreading awareness at welcome week, student champions and/or a peer mentoring scheme.
Carl, a team lead who supported the delivery of the training, commented:
I love to deliver training as I believe it helps frontline staff from other organisations that are working with our service users, to have a better understanding of what they may be going through. It also helps to understand how the different complex needs may impact the support they require or how they behave or present at partner agencies and the training will put the frontline staff in a better position to support our service users."
We want to thank the University of Birmingham for hosting the team and allowing us to explore how we can support more harm reduction initiatives in the future. We hope to continue and expand our training offer to reach those organizations and communities who need our support. We look forward to attending the Welcome week at the University of Birmingham later this year. James, Senior Wellbeing and Partnerships Officer at University of Birmingham, said:
The training on Substance Misuse provided by Change Grow Live was really insightful and was delivered in a relaxed and comfortable environment. It provided wellbeing staff with the knowledge and understanding of being able to have open conversations with students about a range of substances, and useful techniques in how to best support them. The trainers were confident, knowledgeable and most of all, approachable, allowing for open conversation about a challenging topic.
It was a pleasure having Change Grow Live on campus and we look forward to working with you in the future. Thank you.”
Thank you to all the colleagues who supported the creation and delivery of this training: Chris, Carl, Kevin, Steph, James, and Georgia.
Spotlight: Criminal Justice team
The Criminal Justice team are a small team of six Offender Specialists based at Probation Centre City. The team manage clients that have gone through the Criminal Justice system and have been granted a Community Sentence by the Courts. A Community Sentence means that a client will be serving their sentence for the crime they committed in the community and will be managed very closely by Probation, Police and Drug and Alcohol Services. The Criminal Justice team will provide many interventions and support the client right to the end of their community sentence, this can be up to 18 months. The team have to report to Probation and Courts on progress and are sometimes called by the Court to give evidence.
During the pandemic, the Criminal Justice team were shortlisted for the Diamond Award in the Creativity and Innovation category, for the C3 project. The Diamond Awards are given by the Chief Constable from West Midlands Police to projects or teams working to make the West Midlands a safer place to visit, work and live. Out of 400 nominees, the C3 project had been selected in the top 3 for nominees to win the award.
What is the C3 project?
The Choices and Consequences or Crime Free Community Desistance Programme (C3) project is a multi-agency rehabilitation programme that provides high-quality interventions to offenders. The project addresses emotional, psychological, practical and social elements of the participant’s lifestyle that lead to offending behaviour and accelerates the rehabilitation path to desistance (stopping reoffending).
The key principles of the programme are to:
- Protect the public by reducing reoffending
- Offering Choice and Consequences to participants by way of an intensive rehabilitation package or a lengthy custodial sentence
- A Restorative Justice approach to involve the victims in the rehabilitation plan
The team are looking forward to attending the awards when it is rescheduled. A huge congratulations to the Criminal Justice team for their continuous hard work and dedication to our service users.
World Hepatitis Day 2021 – Hepatitis Can’t Wait
We are supporting World Hepatitis Day on Wednesday 28th July, to encourage our service users to get tested for blood-borne viruses and provide them with the resources they need to keep safe.
A person dies every 30 seconds from a hepatitis-related illness. We want to play a big part in reducing the number of people living with hepatitis in Birmingham. Throughout the year, our hubs have hosted specific bloodborne virus testing clinics, and events to get those that test positive for hepatitis the treatment they need. This year alone, staff and volunteers have completed 517 blood-borne virus tests with our service users and have sent a further 327 tests to people to complete themselves. These tests look for signs of hep C, hep B, and HIV. 68 of these tests were completed at hub events in May, whilst the rest have been conducted every day as an essential part of someone’s recovery.
Our North hub will be hosting a blood-borne virus screening day for our service users on World Hepatitis Day. Along with dry-blood spot testing, service users can expect advice from our recovery coordinators, employment advice, and an opportunity to take part in a creative workshop.
Help us eliminate hepatitis by sharing our posts on Twitter.
Pockets of positivity
At Change Grow Live Birmingham, we’re always looking for new ways to collect feedback and capture the positive stories that happen in our service. We have scoured Care Opinion, our PULSE survey, and recorded good news from our staff to bring you our top quotes:
A lot of the time, people look at you and judge you for things you’ve done in the past, especially when it comes to drugs. I’ve done things I’m not proud of, but that doesn’t make me a bad person…And the truth is, drug or alcohol problems can happen to anyone. A lot of the time it starts because of bad things that have happened to you in your past. It’s never too late to change and get the things you want out of life, but it doesn’t come easy. If you want it, you can get it. But as well as good support, you’ve got to put the work in yourself to make this happen.
I couldn’t recommend getting support from places like Change Grow Live enough."
- Care Opinion review from a service user
The LGBTQ+ group has not only been about issues and challenges it has also been a great forum to learn about LGBTQ+ issues, have a laugh, meet new people and hear from guest speakers. Over the months I have been a member of the group I have seen my confidence increase as well as other group members. The group was particularly valuable during the Covid-19 pandemic when the country was under a 'lockdown'. The LGBTQ+ Group provided an escape for many members who were home alone and isolated."
-Service user talking about our LGBTQ+ group
If you, or know someone who has been through our services and would like to leave us a review, please go to Care Opinion to get started. We reply to every review.
Have your voice heard on the Triple Zero City Strategy
Change Grow Live needs your help getting as many responses as possible for the Triple Zero City strategy, a Birmingham City Council plan on how they believe drug and alcohol addiction across Birmingham should be tackled.