I have been volunteering at WDP since October 2020 and started out as a Volunteer Recovery Practitioner.

I used to work in the fashion industry, however I made the decision to change careers because I wanted to make a difference to people’s lives. I have experience of addiction and I feel that I can make use of what I have learnt from my own recovery journey to help others facing similar difficulties with substance misuse. Having studied Psychology at the University of East London, I also wanted to apply my psychology background to my volunteering and work.

The best thing for me about volunteering [at WDP] is the wide range of professional training that is available. I have had the opportunity to learn and develop by shadowing some very knowledgeable mentors and by attending many courses. I was also able to gain valuable experience working with services users by co-facilitating health trainings and non-dependent groups.

As well as helping service users with their drug and alcohol issues, I have also been able help them with other areas of their life too. Some of our service users don’t have access to the internet and they struggle to fill in online forms. This can make it difficult for them to access essential services like benefits and housing support. I have helped people access benefits and food vouchers by supporting them with form filling and contacting agencies.

My volunteering experience has also helped in my own personal life as I have developed transferrable life skills such as boundary setting, SMART goals, and office etiquette.

Volunteering has boosted my self-confidence and sense of achievement and has helped me achieve my career goal to work in the drug and alcohol field. I will soon be starting a full-time paid position at WDP as a Navigator Practitioner.

Don’t be afraid to try new things – volunteering is a life changing experience!

Matteo’s experience has also featured in DDN Magazine, which you can read on page 6 here.

After more than a decade of working hard and playing hard in my spare time, my lifestyle finally caught up with me; I burnt out in spectacular fashion, descending into addiction, losing my job and my home in the process.

Life became a matter of survival until I engaged with WDP and was helped to gradually rebuild from the ground up. I was encouraged to attend training to become a peer mentor by my keyworker.

When the opportunity came up to help welcome new service users in the Induction Group I took it, even though I wasn’t sure sharing my experience of recovery would be relevant to anyone else. The positive response I got from the group members hearing from someone who had been in their position and managed to turn things around made me realise I could have an impact.

The role helped me build my self-esteem back up and I felt like I had some purpose again. With the confidence that brought me, I decided to go back to studying, and enrolled on a counselling course.

Over the three years I have been at college, I have continued to volunteer at WDP in various roles. I recently did some great experiential training with other volunteers that gave me a boost in my skills.

Finally, impossibly, I’ve come full circle and am helping train a brilliant new group of peer mentors. I’d never have believed it if someone had told me that one day I’d be in front of a class teaching, but here I am.

If you are someone who is considering taking up a volunteering role, my advice is to grab the opportunity. The experience that I’ve had at WDP has been encouragement to challenge myself in a supportive environment. It has allowed me to build skills that have opened up options for me to get back into work and turned what was a very difficult time in my life into something meaningful.

Anthony’s experience has also featured in DDN Magazine, which you can read on page 6 here.

Increasing drug and alcohol referrals in Hillingdon

One of the key aims of the government’s 10-year drug strategy is to increase referrals into substance misuse treatment from the criminal justice system.

Rosie Robinson, Team Manager of WDP’s partnership service ARCH, saw a worrying drop in referrals from local custody suites during 2021. She shares how her training programme with the Metropolitan Police resulted in a significant increase in referrals and awareness of support options for service users.

During 2021, our criminal justice team at ARCH (Addiction Recovery Community Hillingdon) saw a large decline in the number of referrals from custody suites to our service. To combat this trend and find out why this might be happening, I reached out to the Custody Manager at Heathrow Airport and the DIP (Drug Interventions Programme) Drug Testing Coordinator at the Metropolitan Police.

Typically, this pathway brings in the largest number of referrals to our team so this decrease was impacting on the support we would typically provide for the service users who we would see in our clinic. We often receive referrals from this pathway for service users that may have never entered treatment in the past and it is a good opportunity to engage with them, educate and raise awareness, and support them in their recovery.

Feedback from our police partners indicated that some of the contributing factors to this drop in referrals were COVID related, including the impact on staffing levels. However, it was also felt that custody staff could benefit from a better understanding of ‘what happens next’ once they refer an individual and the important part they can play.

I was invited by the DIP Drug Testing Coordinator to be part of their Personal Development Days. This was to provide a training slot on the importance of drug testing people in custody and how to refer them to their local DIP team.

I provided training to around 1,000 Metropolitan Police officers overall, to give them a full picture of what we do in drug and alcohol services, what support we give individuals who come to us from the criminal justice system, and what the positive outcomes of treatment are.

The training sessions were a big success. I explained and showcased the treatment options we have at ARCH and how we stabilise this group of service users and continue to support them in their recovery.

It was really encouraging to take questions from officers who wanted a clearer understanding of the job we do and why we do it, explaining to them that we are all part of the bigger picture in tackling substance-related crime – with the referral from custody being the first step.

The feedback we received from the training days was really positive. Also since undertaking this training, we have been seeing increases in our referrals at ARCH (see graph below).

We have been sharing success stories and details of the positive changes service users have made since being referred to us with our police partners and will continue to do so. We hope that this will motivate them to keep testing, referring, and being an integral part of the recovery journey for many of the people they work with.

Partner feedback from the DIP Drug Testing Coordinator

“Your training gave an insight into what happens after custody and how the partnership working that is DIP, provides the help and support those testing positive in custody can access.

“You also highlighted a number of services your provider offers for individuals outside of those we test in relation to DIP.

“This was most helpful for staff to know, that they can provide individuals with your providers’ details to make contact for some support.”

Our impact

A 48-year-old woman called Hayley was referred to ARCH for her first required appointment, after being arrested and testing positive for heroin and crack cocaine whilst in Heathrow Custody.

Since attending ARCH, Hayley has been doing extremely well. She has been able to stabilise on her methadone prescription and has been testing negative for any illicit opiates.

She is really pleased she hasn’t been using heroin on top of her prescription and that her arms have also started to heal since she is no longer injecting since being in treatment.

She is working with her keyworker on being able to manage her money and is happy she was able to buy something for herself recently rather than spending her money on drugs.

Hayley has had a long history of substance misuse and criminal activity, so this is a really positive step for her in her recovery journey.

Find out more about our ARCH service

We are delighted to welcome Dame Carol Black to our residential detox and rehabilitation facility Passmores House today to meet with our IPS (Individual Placement and Support) Into Work team.

Following the release of WDP’s IPS Into Work Impact Report, Dame Carol Black will be meeting with our service users, our IPS Into Work team and Kim Archer, West London Alliance Commissioner to hear more about the success of the innovative employment support scheme.

In Dame Carol Black’s second part of her independent review on drugs, she identified employment as being an ‘essential part of recovery’ and called for the roll out of IPS services across England.

Since early 2019, WDP’s award-winning IPS Into Work service has focused on achieving sustainable employment to help reduce stigma, enrich lives, boost local economies, develop additional talents, and create workforces that reflect the diversity of their local communities.

Despite a challenging year due to the pandemic, our IPS Into Work team has supported 218 service users into employment and provided over 3,700 hours of support to participants during 2019-2021.

Yasmin Batliwala, Chair of WDP, said: “We are delighted to welcome Dame Carol Black to Passmores House today to meet the IPS team following the release of our IPS Into Work Impact Report. The report demonstrates how innovative employment support can transform the lives of people in recovery and we are proud to showcase the excellent outcomes and activities delivered by our teams.”

Kim Archer, West London Alliance Commissioner, said: “It is a pleasure to meet Dame Carol Black, and to have worked with WDP to help people with addiction to maintain their recovery and rediscover the opportunities and self confidence that employment brings. I am delighted that the West London Alliance was at the forefront of expanding IPS to this group of people.”

Read the full IPS Into Work Impact Report

To find out more about our IPS Into Work service, visit our employment support page.

National Apprenticeship Week (7–13 February) is a week-long celebration of apprenticeships in England. The theme this year is ‘build the future’, reflecting how apprenticeships can help individuals to develop the skills and knowledge required for a rewarding career, and help organisations to develop a talented workforce.

To mark National Apprenticeship Week, WDP Merton Service Manager Helen O’Connor and former apprentice Elil Jeyakumar share how Elil has helped the service to break down the barriers to drug and alcohol treatment in the local Tamil community.

Helen O’Connor, Service Manager at WDP Merton

When WDP became the service provider for Merton in 2018, one thing we were keen to do was to respond better to local needs and deliver more culturally informed support to residents from Merton’s diverse communities. A particular area of focus was how the service engaged and worked with residents from the local Tamil community.

It can be difficult for professional interpreters who are not experienced in the delivery of drug and alcohol services, to understand our processes or find words to translate some of the vocabulary that we routinely use. Even when interpreters can support assessments and 1-2-1 keyworking sessions, their presence may be a barrier to an effective working relationship between a practitioner and service user. This is especially the case if there is a different interpreter in each session, or when the interpreter is from the service user’s community, if they do not feel confident speaking freely in front of them.

We wanted to find new ways to address barriers and to provide more choice in the solutions on offer, including groups and peer support. Using the apprenticeship levy scheme, we recruited an apprentice practitioner who could speak Tamil. Their role focused on helping us to understand how we could adapt to better engage with Tamil-speakers and their families, improving their experience of treatment.

Elil joined us in 2019. He has made such a difference to our local service and has now successfully completed his apprenticeship. We’re delighted that he has stayed with the service, becoming a fully-fledged recovery practitioner and a vital and valued member of our team. I’ll let him tell you more about his experience with us!

Elil Jeyakumar, former Apprentice Recovery Practitioner

During my undergraduate years and leading up to my apprenticeship, I worked with community organisations that were tackling the issue of uneven access to health and social care (and statutory services in general) for BAME, migrant, and refugee communities. It was identified that an inclusive approach, which takes into consideration the language, cultural and socio-economic barriers faced by service users, was necessary to promote and sustain continued engagement from them. The problem was that not many organisations or services were putting in place mechanisms to ensure this approach was being taken.

It was very interesting to me that WDP Merton was trying to implement measures for certain areas of improvement that were discussed in the community organisations I worked with, such as the language barrier and making information available in first languages. As a bilingual person, I applied for the apprenticeship wanting to contribute to implementing these changes.

I had no previous experience of working in the sector, however, I gained the necessary knowledge, training, and experience at WDP Merton through the apprenticeship programme. There were lots of opportunities made available to me to design and deliver group programmes and also produce and translate information in the Tamil language.

Over the last few years, I have had many Tamil-speaking service users, who had either no fluency or very limited fluency in English, with whom I was able to foster a very good and trusting relationship. We have even had service users help their friends and peers refer themselves to the service. I believe this goes to show the effectiveness of the work we have done, and I hope this sets a good example and will be followed by other services when and wherever possible.

A service user’s perspective

“When I came to WDP I had so many problems. My son wouldn’t speak to me, I had no family, I had nowhere to live. Then I lost my job because of drinking. I had lost so many things in my life because of alcohol. I had the shakes every day. When I first went to WDP, they helped me get some blood tests and to join a group, and then I had 10 days in detox. After that, I felt so much healthier. I came every week after that to see my keyworker and had a weekly Tamil group with other men. I liked that in the group we could talk and help each other change our lifestyle. There are so many things WDP helped me with, it totally changed my life. Life is going great now.”

This service user found housing and reconnected with his adult son. He also met an advisor at WDP Merton’s Job Centre satellite who helped him access training and find a new job. He has finished his treatment journey with WDP but has supported and encouraged other men from his community into treatment with us.

If you are interested in apprenticeship roles at WDP, visit our recruitment portal to view our latest vacancies and sign up for email alerts.

You can also download our WDP Merton Tamil service leaflet on our WDP Merton service page.

Leading drug and alcohol charity WDP is delighted to announce that it has been successful in its bid to deliver a new integrated drug and alcohol service in West Berkshire.

The new service will commence from 1 April 2022 and will be operational for an initial five-year term.

Treatment and support will be available to all adults and young people who live in West Berkshire and require help with substance misuse of any kind. The service will be delivered from a fixed hub in Newbury as well as in a variety of satellite settings across the county.

The new service will have a strong focus on community, notably through WDP’s award-winning Capital Card® scheme and will bring with it WDP’s recovery focus and commitment to working in partnership with the areas we serve.

Yasmin Batliwala, Chair of WDP said: “We are delighted to have been awarded the contract to partner with West Berkshire Council and to have the opportunity to provide high-quality substance misuse service provision to the residents of West Berkshire. As a lead agency in this field, we are looking forward to supporting the needs of the users of our services who are front and centre of all we do. We also look forward to welcoming our new staff team into the WDP fold.”

We are pleased to announce that our Cheshire West and Chester substance misuse treatment service (known locally as New Beginnings) has been rated ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The CQC inspectors highlighted that staff “treated clients with compassion and kindness” and that the service “provided a range of treatments suitable to the needs of the clients and in line with national guidance about best practice.” The inspectors also identified WDP’s Capital Card scheme as an area of outstanding practice in the service.

The report includes some excellent feedback from service users. The inspectors reported that service users described staff as “considerate, caring and supportive” and they felt staff had “gone the extra mile to help them”.

Liane Goryl, Commissioning Manager Public Health, Cheshire West and Chester Council, commented: “This CQC report is a true reflection of the fantastic work and dedication of the staff teams who ensure that the local authority substance misuse service is delivered in a safe and effective way. The kindness and compassion shown to clients, working in a person-centred way is incredibly clear and shows the commitment of the skilled staff working in WDP New Beginnings across Cheshire West and Chester. The local authority is proud of the service and recognises the outstanding practise in relation to the Capital Card which inspectors highlighted. The strong relationship between the commission team, public health and WDP allows for us to work together successfully. Thank you to everyone who works for WDP New Beginnings in Cheshire West and Chester.”

Yasmin Batliwala, Chair of WDP, commented: “We are delighted with this excellent CQC report acknowledging the high quality of our New Beginnings service within Cheshire West and Chester. It is a credit to the team for their hard work and commitment to our service users, as it recognises the importance we place on providing a service which is tailored to the needs of each individual who comes to us for support. Working closely with our commissioners is a key feature of our success and together we are able to deliver so much more. It is a partnership we value immensely and hope to continue to build on. We remain grateful to the users of our service for having faith in us to assist them in improving their lives.”

The areas of good practice that the CQC was particularly impressed by were:

• Staff developed holistic, recovery-orientated care plans informed by a comprehensive assessment. They provided a range of treatments suitable to the needs of service users and in line with national guidance around best practice.
• Staff treated service users with compassion and kindness and understood their individual needs. They actively involved them in decision making and care planning.
• The service was well led and governance processes ensured that quality and performance was monitored, incidents and complaints were investigated, and learning was disseminated to staff.
• Staff assessed and managed risks to service users and themselves well. They responded promptly to any sudden deterioration in a service user’s s health and when necessary and appropriate, staff worked with service users and their families and carers to develop crisis plans.

We are looking forward to using the findings of the report to continue to improve our services. To view the CQC report, click here.

If you live in Cheshire West and Chester and would like to talk to someone about your or someone else’s drug or alcohol use, please contact us on 0300 303 4548 or cwac@wdp.org.uk. You can also visit our service page for more information and to complete an online referral.

WDP has launched its Individual Placement and Support (IPS) impact report for 2019-2021.

The report reflects the huge benefits that tailored employment support can have for people with experience of addiction as well as the wider community.

Since early 2019, WDP’s award-winning IPS Into Work service has focused on achieving sustainable employment to help reduce stigma, enrich lives, boost local economies, develop additional talents, and create workforces that reflect the diversity of their local communities.

Despite a challenging year due to the pandemic, our IPS into Work team has supported 218 service users into employment and provided over 3,700 hours of support to participants during 2019-2021.

Speaking about their experience of IPS Into Work, one service user said: “I have been in services for 15 years and truly believe this is an essential part of the jigsaw of which I call my recovery. [I’m] looking forward to my first step in that direction.”

One key success has been helping service users to engage with prospective employers and building up local networks so they have access to regular opportunities. Over the last year, the team has worked with more than 100 different employers and IPS Into Work service users have obtained jobs across 10 sectors.

Yasmin Batliwala, Chair of WDP, said: “At WDP, we are committed to supporting the development of resilient communities. Our experience tells us that helping service users to access employment opportunities, and subsequently supporting and sustaining such employment, is a vital part of what we do to achieve this commitment.”

Kim Archer, West London Alliance Commissioner, said: “We are delighted to have commissioned this innovative service from WDP. Employment is such an important part of sustaining recovery for people with addictions. WDP have been an excellent partner in delivering this personalised and effective service to our residents.”

Read the full IPS into Work impact report

Leading drug and alcohol charity WDP has been successful in its bid to work in partnership with Surrey and Borders NHS Foundation Trust and Surrey County Council in delivering substance misuse services in Surrey.

WDP will be providing services as part of the wider NHS service, i-access, which is jointly provided by Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Public Health (Surrey County Council). The new service provision will commence from 1 April 2022 and will be operational for an initial three-year term.

WDP will be delivering one-to-one and group support for service users, as well as harm reduction. It has an award-winning Capital Card® scheme, and a unique family safeguarding service which will be co-located with children and families’ social services teams.

Yasmin Batliwala, Chair of WDP, said: “We are looking forward to working together with the Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Trust and Public Health (SCC) to provide high-quality support for all those living in the county who require help with their drug or alcohol use. This partnership provides an exciting opportunity to deliver meaningful support which will enable the users of our services to explore options to ensure a positive future. We also look forward to welcoming new staff into the WDP family.”

WDP welcomes the publication of HM Government’s 10-year drugs plan and, in particular, its adoption of the recommendations of Dame Carol Black’s Review of Drugs.

As a third sector provider of recovery treatment and support services, we welcome the additional investment in these systems. We are positive about the difference this can make to the health and wellbeing of those suffering from addiction issues and society as a whole.

The new funding will help providers such as ourselves to invest in more specialist roles to support our most complex clients. Increasing client-facing staff numbers overall will also help to increase the quality of personalised care.

The continuation of current increased funding is appreciated, as is the introduction of further investment, staggered over the next three years according to geographic areas of need. However, it should be borne in mind that every local authority has a proportion of people with the highest levels of need, and they must benefit from this investment equally.

A holistic approach to recovery, including accommodation and employment status is encouraging, particularly the commitment to have IPS employability programmes in every local authority by the end of 2024/2025. We have seen first-hand the effectiveness of this approach in our award-winning IPS Into Work service in West London.

The strategy recognises that addiction is a long-term health condition. This is vital, as is the focus on equality in treatment opportunities. WDP treats all those who access our services with the utmost dignity and will ensure that their voices are continually heard as the recommendations of this report are implemented.

We look forward also to the further development of the 10-year plan beyond the detail for the first three years outlined today. It is critical that the ambitions of this strategy are realised for the social, physical, and mental wellbeing of the nation.

Yasmin Batliwala, Chair of WDP said “We are encouraged by the financial investment being put into drug treatment; Dame Carol Black’s Review rightly states that the ‘payoff is handsome’ with each £1 spent on treatment saving £4 from reduced demand on other services. It is imperative that services are evidence-based and robust, providing a comprehensive range of treatment and care to meet the differing and complex needs of those we support. Dynamic partnerships will be essential if the drugs strategy is to work, and this will require coordinated action within and between government departments and the drug sector.”

To read the government’s drug strategy, please visit: From harm to hope: A 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)