£5.5 million to help Tynesiders with multiple problems

The Fund is awarding the grant to the partnership led by Changing Lives (formerly The Cyrenians) who will be working with local organisations Mental Health Concern and Aquila Way to improve and better coordinate services to tackle the needs of people living chaotic lives.

Eleven other successful partnerships across England are also receiving multimillion pound grants.

The Big Lottery Fund’s investment, backed by Jon Snow, Mitch Winehouse and Russell Brand, has brought together organisations and bodies that tackle these issues to improve the stability, confidence and capability of people with multiple and complex needs to lead better lives so they spend less time in prison, reduce their drug abuse, are in stable accommodation and have better mental health.

People with multiple needs often lack effective contact with services that meet not just one, but all of their complex problems. These grants are enabling different services to work together to provide tailored support addressing all their problems, preventing people from falling through the gaps in service provision or rotating around various different services

Local authority data indicates there are 2,370 drug users in Newcastle while four out of every 1,000 people in Gateshead are homeless. Data from the partnership suggests there are 500 people with multiple and complex problems in Newcastle and Gateshead

Changing Lives looked at two local people with multiple issues and the cost of those services of the services used by the individuals. One 19-year-old woman had problems including mental ill health, alcohol misuse, experience of domestic violence and had received several custodial sentences. While in custody she self-harmed and expressed suicidal thoughts. The total costs over a year, including prison, arrests, ambulance callouts, court appearances, amounted to £29,000 in one year. A 47-year-old man suffered from depression, was a chronic alcohol user, had periods of sleeping rough, who began injecting drugs aged 16, had used drugs consistently through his adult life, and had a history of offending. The total costs over a year, including bed days in hospital, hospital admissions and arrests amounted to more than £68,000 in one year.

The core partnership, Changing Lives, Mental Health Concern and Aquila Way, will aim to radically change the health, social care and criminal justice culture so that people with multiple and complex needs can make the journey from crisis to stability by getting a home, a job and sustained well-being. This project will identify those people with the most entrenched problems, co-ordinating their support and helping with access to all the services required. Those using the service will be able to determine what best suits their circumstances and priorities.

Stephen Bell OBE, Chief Executive, Changing Lives said: “The Big Lottery’s Fulfilling Lives programme provides us with a unique opportunity to bring positive and long lasting changes to the way in which we support some of the most vulnerable people in Newcastle and Gateshead.

“The Fulfilling Lives programme is going to build on the excellent work of the commissioners in Newcastle and Gateshead which has been done in a difficult economic environment. Working with clients, our core partners Aquila Way and Mental Health Concern and existing strategic commissioning teams, this eight year investment will allow us the time and resources needed to make the sustainable changes in ways of working.

“People experiencing a combination of mental health problems, homelessness and issues around addiction and offending often need help from a number of different services. These are usually commissioned and delivered separately so it’s often the person themselves who is left to link everything up. This leaves highly vulnerable people responsible for navigating complex systems of services which can be difficult, intimidating and time consuming. Our vision is to ensure support services work better together and are developed to fit around the person.

“Clients have been at the heart of shaping this project from the beginning. Ultimately they have told us they need the system to be as simple as possible. Through their continued involvement, the partnership will ensure that Fulfilling Lives acts as a catalyst for positive, long-term change which helps people get a home, a job and look forward to a positive future.”

Nat Sloane, Big Lottery Fund England Chair, said: “Tens of thousands of people are passed from pillar to post with many inevitably leading chaotic lives – rebounding in and out of A & E departments and criminal courts rather than being helped by integrated support services. This £112 million investment will allow people to become assets rather than drains on society and go on to lead fulfilling lives benefitting their communities and society as a whole.”

Over the eight-year investment, the Big Lottery Fund will gather evidence that will shed light on more effective and efficient ways of organising and delivering services for people with multiple needs, the significant savings in health and criminal justice costs as well as the benefits to the individuals themselves and their communities.

Case study: Kevin, Newcastle

Kevin said: “I was brought up in a poor area of Newcastle and witnessed a lot of domestic violence by both parents. This led me to an early life of drug and alcohol abuse. I was given my first spliff at nine years old off my father. From then I soon turned to a life of crime which when I hit my teen years they were spent in prison where I was introduced to heroin.

“At first I loved this drug as it numbed every bad memory and took away my pain, but there was a downside. It took me to a dark and lonely place of depression and homelessness. I ended up living on the streets and sleeping wherever I could, in shop doorways and under the local library. I took to begging for money to feed my habit.

“Then I met someone who was a support worker and they helped me get into a hostel. From then on my life started to change. I went to college, got numerous qualifications over a period of five years. Now my life is back on track. I’m now in work and I devote all my time to helping others. This is the only buzz I need.”