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- Merger Creates Addiction Recovery Housing Giant
- Why Housing is at the Heart of Recovery
- Supported Housing Has Been Crucial To My Recovery
Merger Creates Addiction Recovery Housing Giant
A new partnership between two of the country’s main residential rehab charities has paved the way for growth in the provision of housing for people in rehab treatment and recovery from addiction.
“We’ll be using our expertise to help people to sustain drug and alcohol free lifestyles...”
The amalgamation of TTP Housing and Inward House Projects brings more than 200 recovery beds under one provider, making it one of the largest providers of recovery housing in the country. The new organisation will work in partnership with TTP Counselling to deliver inpatient detox, residential rehab, community daycare and abstinent treatment for drug or alcohol addiction. TTP’s Chief Executive in charge of Strategic Development, Tom Kirkwood, explained that the new partnership has a clear plan for the future: “This collaboration is a significant step towards our goal of building a nationwide network of recovery treatment housing. We want to increase the availability of accommodation to people during and after rehab treatment to support their sustained recovery,” he said.
Inward House Projects has been a successful provider of residential rehab for more than 30 years, while TTP Housing has experienced sustainable growth since its inception some five years ago. Community-based housing is a key element of TTP Counselling’s treatment model at a number of its ten centres. Hayden Duncan, Executive Manager at Inward House Projects, is looking forward to the next stage in Inward House’s work: “Inward House Projects has always been about giving people the best chance to overcome drug and alcohol problems and this merger enables us to continue to do that by focusing on the housing and support elements. It’s a vital part of recovery and we’ll be using our expertise to help people to sustain drug and alcohol free lifestyles,” he explained. The new partnership will manage recovery housing across the country including facilities in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Bedfordshire and Surrey.
Why Housing is at the Heart of Recovery
by Tom Kirkwood
The increased emphasis on access to and availability of accommodation as a key pillar of lasting recovery is obvious in several areas of our work, not least the latest Government Drug strategy.
Vicky’s story (overleaf) highlights just how crucial housing can be to recovery. That’s why we have looked to develop a partnership that provides a platform from which to build greater strength and depth in recovery treatment accommodation. There seems almost universal agreement that a stable base can give people a better
chance of staying drug and alcohol free and enable people to concentrate on their treatment and recovery. That stability can also make it much easier to return to employment – and hold down the job over time. Having these ‘building blocks’ in place – in recovery with a secure base and feeling prepared for work – can have a hugely beneficial impact on both physical and mental wellbeing. Like a hierarchy of needs, all these things can come together to help people rebuild relationships and reintegrate into the wider community, securing the outcomes that we would like to see for all our clients. Linking with Inward House Projects and expanding our housing provision means that we can offer more – more expertise, more capacity and more choice. And the reason for doing that is clear – we believe it will give more people the chance to experience sustained recovery.
St James’ House
Located in Accrington, we can support 13 people in self catering Flats with modern facilities on hand. These flats are an ideal base for people in recovery to reintegrate into the community, going to work or college and having a secure and stable home to return to with support available.
“I believe that this new organisation is good news for the sector and that we are moving towards wider availability of housing for those in treatment and recovery. We now have a huge variety of accommodation available – everything from self catering flats to medical detox beds with 24-hour nursing support and all mod cons. “But of course, while the ‘bricks and mortar’ are important, there’s much more to what we do than just providing a secure place for people to lay their heads. And that’s where our support teams come in. We have a great bunch of people, specialists, medics, coaches and volunteers and their expertise and dedication is what turns our buildings into safe, supported homes giving people a stable base to enable them to get back out there as valuable members of the community. “The combination of the housing and our team give us a great opportunity to make recovery more sustainable and help clients achieve ambitious goals.” Hayden Duncan
Walter Lyon House
With some 20 beds, including a wing with fully accessible bedrooms and bathrooms, Walter Lyon House enjoys a lovely setting on the outskirts of Lancaster. The house has only recently been extended and refurbished with numerous counselling rooms and high-quality communal rooms as well as pretty, relaxing grounds for clients to enjoy.
Withnell House
This is a large house in beautiful surroundings with fabulous outside space and great facilities. Set in countryside near Chorley, the house has 29 beds for residential rehab where clients stay for between six and 12 months with a range of activities, preparing residents for a healthy return to their communities.
Bradford
Purpose-built only recently, TTP Bradford is an in-patient detox centre with stabilisation services. It has 12 bedrooms including one fully equipped for disabled people. Clients stay an average of two weeks in medically
supervised detox with support, coaching and 24-hour nursing care all in-house.
Supported Housing Has Been Crucial To My Recovery
Vicky is convinced that living in supported housing has been a vital part of her recovery journey. She explains how, after 40 years of heroin addiction and in the face of a dramatic and unexpected challenge to her recovery, she found support and strength at St James’ House.
“I’ve been in recovery for 21 months now - after rehab, I moved in to a flat at St James House and it has made a world of difference to me. Coming out of rehab was a bit of a shock in many ways, being in the community again felt a bit ‘in your face’. If I hadn’t had the housing it would have been very damaging and perhaps my recovery wouldn’t have lasted. Confidence to move forward “Although I was out of rehab, my confidence was still low and it’s the support that I received at the house that has changed that. I never believed I could do college and so I would never have gone if I’d been left on my own but now I’m studying social sciences at college three days a week. Being at the house has given me the stability to commit to the course and the support here has built my confidence and now my studies are going really well! My time is pretty full - as well as college I spend a day each week offering peer support at the rehab centre and have now been appointed to a proper volunteer position. Without the supported housing, I wouldn’t have done these things – I wouldn’t be moving forward with my life like this, in fact, I probably would have got bored and boredom is dangerous for me. Re-learning life skills “After 40 years as a heroin addict with a totally chaotic life, I can’t remember when I last successfully ran a home. Being in the supported housing has given me independence but also a place and space to learn to manage budgets, pay my bills and not have to deal with the uncertainties and worries that I was used to. “When people ask me how I feel in supported housing the word that springs to mind straight away is ‘safe’. And that’s so important for me – I’d never really been straight before and it can be confusing. One of the great things about where I’ve been living is the community we’ve built there. Everybody there is abstinent and we understand each other’s experiences and so, as well as the ‘formal’ support, there is a really strong peer support network. A shock around the corner I’ve stayed in the House longer than most because, just as I was getting my life back, there was another challenge waiting for me. A year to the day from getting clean, I was diagnosed with cancer. Being in supported housing had already done so much for me but the help I got was amazing. It made a traumatic experience a lot easier – I had company and support not just getting to the hospital but also in the appointments themselves. Often, what the doctors were saying was too much for me to take in but my support team stayed with me and helped me to understand what was going on and feel strong enough to get through it. I’ve just been given the all-clear last week and I am feeling brave and confident enough to move on and I’m in the process of getting a property of my own. “What do I feel that recovery housing has done for me? Simple - it’s given me the chance I needed.”
