What is 'Multiple and Complex Needs'?

Fulfilling Lives Newcastle Gateshead is one of 12 programmes across the country in the National Community Fund’s Multiple and Complex Needs (MCN) Programme, working together to improve services for people with multiple and complex needs.

Around 60,000 people in England experience multiple and complex needs, defined here as exhibiting at least three of:

• homelessness
• current/historical offending
• problematic substance or alcohol misuse
• and mental ill-health.

This not only affects their lives, but leads to significant social and economic costs associated with a failure to effectively support them.

People with ill-defined needs find it more difficult to engage with services, and are often referred to as ‘hard to reach’.  They find that specific services may not fully understand the breadth of their issues, and therefore their holistic needs are not met. Additionally, they may become frustrated by a lack of services or the un-coordination of available services. This frustration, when vented, can lead to them being deemed as ‘difficult clients’, often leading to further exclusion and disengagement from support and society.

People with multiple complex needs often rotate through various services and systems which can actually make their problems worse rather than helping them, at a cost to both them and society. Our eight-year programme aims to ensure that their full needs are met, helping them to improve their lives for the better.