NetworkMonthly news, views and updates from across Phoenix

Issue 12

Run for Recovery

Sportspark, based at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, has made a donation of £627 to the local based charity NORCAS. NORCAS is a charity that provides vital help and support to people of all ages who have problems with alcohol, drugs or gambling. With services spread over Norfolk and Suffolk NORCAS helped in excess of 10,000 people last year.

Through Sportspark’s Charity Spinner scheme, which was relaunched earlier this year, Sportspark customers have the chance to offer small donations in return for a copy of the Eastern Daily Press or Norwich Evening News. Every charity that benefits from the monthly appeal is chosen by Sportspark

customers and members of the community.

This donation will help NORCAS to provide new services like ‘Too Much Too Young’. This service aims to help and support children who are caring for parents with drug and alcohol issues. The children, some as young as 10, can be caring for parents and siblings and looking after the house, as well as trying to stay in school and find time for themselves. ‘Too Much Too Young’ aims to help them through hard times by advising them on dealing with emergencies, offering education on the dangers of drugs and alcohol, helping them to stay in school and introducing them to peers who are in a similar situation.

Sportspark donates over £600 to NORCAS

Well done to the Barnsley runners who took part in the Sheffield 10k last month. It was bitterly cold, a horrendously hilly course made worse by a biting Siberian gale. So well done Marie and Roxy who work at the DAAT, you deserve your medals and the free chocky more than ever.

We upped the training this week and we all managed to run 5k so the team are back moving forwards towards our goal of the Sheffield half marathon in May. Many of our original runners have been beaten by a range of injuries, so I am not unique.

In the world of recovery there is a wealth of informed expertise and certainty about how you could address your own addictive behaviour and a massive range of sources of information and so too it is the case with running. I naively thought you put on some shoes and move your legs a bit faster than walking pace and hey presto running. When I was a kid I would run everywhere. I managed this without being told about the best way to go about it , what I thought were self evident things.

You can read more of the Run for =-Recovery blog at http://runforrecovery.tumblr.com/

Dave KneeshawTeam MemberBarnsley Resettlement

Taking a drug called ‘Rockstar has led to seven people in the Glasgow area being hospitalised over the weekend.

Strathclyde Police have described the red or yellow tablets being sold as ecstasy,

as a potentially deadly substance

Read more here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-21650194

‘Rockstar’ drug: Police warning after 7 hospitalised

www.phoenix-futures.org.uk

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successfully re-engage upon the prisoners release” says Nepacs Integrated Family Support Worker, Sharon Bircumshaw. “Children especially, greatly benefit from having longer contact with their fathers in a relaxed and as natural as possible environment and can create a memory of a ‘family day’ and take a photo home as a reminder.”

Bath Street Recovery Hub

On 27th February, our Bath Street Recovery Hub celebrated Mothers Day this year by asking service users to take part in female only and men only gender groups to write poems and stories about their Mother’s.Donna Dougan, a staff member at Bath Street Recovery Hub, who ran the women’s only gender group said that “the groups are very beneficial to the females as it provides them with a forum to bond and discuss female related issues that they experience in addiction and recovery. Glasgow Supported House

On 28th February, Glasgow Supported Housing Service ran a Mother’s Day group where service

users wrote stories, poems and created artwork to describe how they felt about their Mum, Gran or significant other. These pieces of work were then displayed during the Mother’s Day Vintage Tea Party, organised with the Scottish Residential Service and service users had the opportunity to read this work out to their Mum, Gran or significant other.“It is an emotional subject for some of the service users as they may still be dealing with the loss of their mum or may have no contact due to their previous substance use” says Lorraine Kennedy, Team Member at Glasgow Supported Housing Service. ”All of the service users who took part put a lot of work into it and appreciated the chance to be able to write this down. It is

HMP Kirklevington Grange

On 18 and 19 February HMP Kirklevington Grange Dart Team in partnership with the Family Support Service organised a two day family day for current prisoners with a Mother’s Day theme. Children and family members of the prisoners were invited to the two day event where all got involved making plant pots decorated with ribbon, creating Mother’s Day cards and decorating mugs.

“The family days at HMP Kirklevington Grange are an important means for families and prisoners to have quality time together to support the ability to

www.phoenix-futures.org.uk

To mark Mother’s Day 2013, Phoenix Futures ran a Mother’s Day campaign to raise awareness of the vital part Mothers play in an individual’s recovery; ‘just under 50% of our service users said that their Mum was their main support in their recovery’ (Phoenix Futures Footprint statistics 2011). The campaign was a success due to the enormous amount of effort put in by our services, encouraging service users to take part by sharing messages and stories about their Mums and entering the organisation’s national competition to come up with the greatest Mother’s Day gift, the 10 winners receiving chocolates and flowers for their Mum on Mother’s Day.

explore coping strategies to manage emotions and make cards for their mother/mother figure.“We at HMP Pentonville believe Mother’s Day is an important event to recognise the important roles that families play in a service user’s road to recovery” says the Building Futures Service Manager, Richard Levell. “Our dedicated family worker works to support mothers and wider family members who have been effected by substance use while individuals are at our establishment and continuing after they return to the community, where required. We felt it vital to also recognise the effect that a day such as this has on service users themselves.”

HMP Wymott

On 8th March, the Therapeutic Community at HMP Wymott organised a card making workshop on behalf of Mother’s Day where service users made cards that they then sent onto their Mums. During the workshop, residents were asked to write a positive pull up for their Mother/ Mother figure to reinforce their admiration, respect and appreciation of what their Mums have done for them over the years. Throughout the day the service created a wallpaper mural that was displayed on the unit and where residents added their tokens of thanks, memories, admirations and just notes of value, valuing Mothers.

National Specialist Family Service - Sheffield

For Mother’s Day this year, our National Specialist Family service organised their own Mother’s day event to highlight the huge amount of support Mothers give to their children in their recovery. The special event took place on Saturday 9th March at the National Specialist Family Service and all Mums and Grandmothers of current service user were invited to the service for a tea party to appreciate Mums. “It is vital to not only celebrate Mother’s day for all our mums who are placed with us but to also highlight and appreciate the unconditional support that has been given by Mothers and Grandmothers to the families at our service” says

National Specialist Family Service Manager Trevor Sandford.

Wirral Residential Service

On behalf of Mother’s Day this year, our Wirral Residential Service organised a dedicated event over two days, on the Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th, to celebrate service users Mothers and significant others who have supported them in their recovery. Over the two days, the service offered alternative therapy treatments, acupuncture and massages, to the Mums and significant others and also provided a special meal for all that were at the service. The service organised flowers for the service users to present to the Mums and significant others during the event.

“Mother’s day for some of our residents is often a very difficult and emotional time of year but rather than dwelling on past events and situations we have encouraged our residents to think about how they are building positive, healthy and supportive relationships whilst engaging in treatment” says Nicola Owens, Programme Manager at the service.

important to recognise the role that mothers play in a service users life and recovery as quite often they are the main support, both during active addiction and recovery, and this gives us the chance to tell them how much they are appreciated.”

Park House Residential Service

On 6th March, Park House Residential Service held a group on how Mothers have supported residents in their recovery and how they can give something back. During the group service users created a display to share appreciation for Mothers.

“The families of those in recovery often get overlooked despite addiction having a big impact on their lives” says Senior Practioner at Park House, Kate Kempthorne. “We, at Park House, feel it is important to provide support for families and give residents an opportunity to express their gratitude and give something back to those who have helped them get where they are today.”

On 8th March, Park House Residential also organised for the Aquarius Family Group, (a local alcohol service that has a particular ‘family and involved others’ service) to come in and run a family group with service users. The service is in the process of setting up this group on a weekly basis.

HMP Pentonville

On 7th March the Building Futures team at HMP Pentonville held a Mother’s Day craft group where prisoners on the Drug Free Unit were encouraged to talk about their feelings around Mother’s Day,

www.phoenix-futures.org.uk

Visit our website for more some of our messages to mums, and ideal gifts for Mothers Day.

http://www.phoenix-futures.org.uk/home/

I first heard of Phoenix Futures when I went on the Therapeutic Community (TC) in HMP Holme House. I would like to say that I went on there to make a change to my lifestyle of drugs but to be hon-est I went on there to get an easier life in prison.

My first thought of the TC was that I had joined some kind of cult (due to the morning meeting and everyone clapping at what I thought at the time were small achievements) but my attitude to it changed over the first two months when I realised that those small achievements were actually big ones for the people making them and now I was the one receiving them. Plus now I was entertainments department head which was a big thing for me because I had stopped being outgoing and I lacked confidence due to my drug and alcohol dependency. At the time I thought I needed them to be outgoing and confident, how wrong I was.

The thing about the TC was that we didn’t look at the drug use but at the behaviour that led to it. That’s what led me to realise that my life had been really chaotic, moving from one job to the next and also moving my family around the country. That’s when I had my eureka moment. I could not carry on like this because I would either be in an early grave or locked in prison for the rest of my life. From that moment on I wanted to change and the TC helped me along the way to reach that goal.

It was as I was doing just that, that I realised I wanted to help people just like I was helped so my first step to that was to become a facilitator on the TC which I really enjoyed. I got some really good guidance from the Phoenix Futures staff.

Then I moved to HMP Kirklevington Grange, at this point I struggled a bit but the Dart team (Felicity Armstrong) were there to help me get back on track and helped me get a job in the Dart office as the first Dart Mentor at Kirklevington Grange. They also helped me successfully complete my OCN level II Peer Mentoring qualification and I have also done some more facilitating of group sessions (Parent Factor and Smart Recovery) which brings me to the present. In five days time I will be out of prison and looking forward to a future working to support others in recovery.

I know that I’ve still got some struggles to go but I’ve now got the skills and support to help me overcome them.

So a big thank you to all the staff on the TC in Holme House and thank you to the Dart team in Kirklevington Grange (Felicity, Natalie and Ruth).

What is changing?We are restructuring the health and safety structure in England. We are making it less regional and more local. This is happening by making White hats look after localities, rather than regions. Why is it changing?Regions no longer make sense for our business model.When is this happening?Road shows will be taking place in April and May 2013. Recruitment of White hats will be taking place around then. How do I benefit from being a white hat?There are a lot of benefits; an opportunity for your personal Learning and Development, it looks great on a CV and acts as proof of your leadership skills. It is an excellent opportunity to meet other people within the organisation, and to share ideas.How do I apply?Everyone who is interested should apply. If more than one person applies for the same role we will have a fair decision making process in place to decide.An email bulletin will be going around in march with more information. More questions? Phone or email Ruby- ruby.newton@phoenix-futures.org.uk or 0207 234 9779

Health and Safety is Changing

The Marketing & Communications and Human Resources departments would like to announce our official LinkedIn company page. You will have to re-enter your empolyer information on your profile to connect. When you see our logo appear you’ll know you’ve done this correctly.

http://www.linkedin.com/com-pany/phoenix-futures

LinkedIn

www.phoenix-futures.org.uk

Meet Wayne

The Learning and Development Department have confirmed two new partnerships as part of their continuing efforts to provide development opportunities around the organisation.

SQA is the national accreditation and awarding body in Scotland but also acts as an awarding body for some qualifications in England, namely QCF.

In their accreditation role, they accredit vocational qualifications that are offered across Scotland, including Scottish Vocational Qualifications and approve awarding bodies that wish to award them.

As an awarding body, they work with schools, colleges, universities, industry, and government, to provide high quality, flexible and relevant qualifications. Scotland’s education system is world-renowned — and the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) sits at its very heart. Increasingly, they are the awarding body of choice — businesses, colleges, schools and training providers turn to them for

the qualifications and services they provide.

The Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) is the national credit transfer system for education qualification in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. The QCF replaces the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) which closed for accreditations at the end of 2010. Students who started qualifications under the NQF will complete them, any student starting a qualification from September 2011 will complete it under the QCF. Scotland has its own system - the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework.

We are an approved SQA centre and as such this means we can deliver and assess the following qualifications.

SVQ 3 in Health & Social Care SVQ 4 in Health & Social Care QCF level 3 Diploma in Health & Social Care QCF level 5 Diploma Leadership in Health & Social Care

In 2012 Phoenix Futures were given the opportunity to take part in the ECEtt project sending 15 staff members from a range of services and roles, in groups of three, to centres across Europe – in Belgium, Greece, Poland and Spain. Staff were sent for two weeks and gained invaluable experience through witnessing projects and services similar to their own, and Phoenix Futures also facilitated visits from trainees from these countries to our own projects in the UK.

This month, DDN magazine published an article about the project. Read the full article at

http://drinkanddrugsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DDN-1302-web.pdf on page 12 and 13.

‘Working with ECEtt has enriched our organisation’s practice in so many ways,’ said Learning and Development Manager at Phoenix Futures, Fran Gray. ‘Not only have the 15 members of staff benefited through their travel experiences and shared best practice but it has created an awareness and acute interest throughout Phoenix Futures of our EU partners’ work in similar services and shared the common theme of improving service users’ lives. The staff returned with elevated motivation which has been infectious, interesting and enlightening.’

Kate Lawrence appears on Future Radio

New Learning & Development accreditation and qualifications

www.phoenix-futures.org.uk

Kate Lawrence, Substance Misuse worker for our over 50s service in Norwich, made an appearance on local community station Future Radio 107.8FM to discuss over 50s in addicton.

You can hear the broadcast in its entirety at http://www.phoenix-futures.org.uk/over-50s/

The Over 50s Outreach Service Newsletter

Reaching Out

March Issue www.norcas.org.uk

Welcome back to our newsletterDesigned to keep service providers and referrers up to date with the latest news

NORCAS is a provider of services for people with drug, alcohol and gambling problems in East Anglia. We are supported by the national addiction charity Phoenix Futures.

OFOS on the RadioKate joined Peter Rowley, Chairman of Care for Carers, on his

‘Carers Corner’ show at local community station Future Radio 107.8FM.

They discussed the work of the Over 50s Outreach Service, tips on safer

drinking for older people and how listeners could find out more about

the work we do.

Care for Carers offers friendly confidential advice and guidance. For more information go to their website

www.careforcarers.co.uk or telephone 01603 741160.

If you would like to listen to the broadcast it can be found on the following link

www.phoenix-futures.org.uk/over-50s

Phoenix House (operating as Phoenix Futures) is a registered charity in England and Wales (No. 284880) and in Scotland (No. SC039008)

Working with Older People with Alcohol Problems – Kings CollegeOn January 31st Kings College, London hosted “Working with Older People with Alcohol Problems”, a conference aimed at improving knowledge and enhancing good practice across all aspects of alcohol, drug and prescription medication dependency issues in this area.

The OFOS were invited to deliver a session called ‘Alcohol and Medication Use in Older Adults’ to the almost 100 practitioners, policy makers and academics attending.

Kate and Simon spoke about the OFOS and the work we do to help older people and their families who may have issues with alcohol and prescription medication. The 30 minute presentation was followed by a lively discussion about the challenges faced by professionals working in this area which highlighted many of the points in our leaflet “A Dangerous Cocktail’.

For a copy of the leaflet, to invite the team to come to speak to you or your organisation about substance misuse in older people or to make a referral for yourself or a client contact the team at over.50s@phoenix-futures.org.uk

The OFOS is on Twitter follow us @Over50sOutreachHere’s a taster of some of our recent ‘tweets’;

Sportspark donates over £600 to NORCAS Charity http://www.phoenix-futures.org.uk/sportspark-donates-over-600-to-norcas-charity/

Seven million ‘take painkillers so they can work’ via @Telegraph http://soc.li/MA5NPHl

BBC News - Level of excess drinking of alcohol ‘is underestimated’ http://bbc.in/XfYeZK

BBC News - Why does being lonely make you ill? http://bbc.in/X26sX0

BBC News - Dementia ‘affects 80% of care home residents’ http://bbc.in/YwSdt6

There’s lots of lonely older people let’s not forget them - #Heartwarming - Facebook Plea Brings Hundreds To Funeral http://news.sky.com/story/1055081/facebook-plea-brings-hundreds-to-funeral

Meet the teamKate LawrenceSubstance Misuse Worker

Call us on 01603 660 070or email over.50s@phoenix-futures.org.uk

SimonWakefieldSubstance Misuse Worker

JuliaWildinCounsellor