The appropriately named Off The Wall (OTW) started life on the wall - as a noticeboard for clients to share news, information and advice to help in their recoveries.

As a group of people going through similar life experiences, clients felt they had a lot to offer one another, and they were right! So much was being shared on the board that clients suggested transforming it into a magazine, to make it accessible to more people. And the fact that it is still going strong 10 years later is a testament to the power of peer-led support, and the commitment of our clients to helping one another in their recoveries.

Our graphic designers, the Group of Seven, soon began to offer their expertise on a voluntary basis, bringing the magazine’s production to a professional level and making it a project that clients would really be proud to contribute to.

DHI FriendsDHI Friends newsletter #9 Autumn 2015 www.dhi-online.org.uk

“Public Health England funds exciting new Peer Hub”

New home for Bristol Peer Supporters, page 6

“Dr Pedlar and Doris spread the word on legal highs”

The Natural Theatre Company, page 4

Inside this issue: A word from our CEO 2 / Annual Event 3 / Spreading the word on legal highs 4 / News in brief 7 / Positive about disability 8

Of f The Wall Turns Ten!Off The Wall, our client-led magazine, is celebrating its 10th year! We find out more.

Continued on page 2 …

We spoke to Ella Opher, a member of staff who supports the organisation of OTW. She explains a bit about how the magazine is run: “OTW is led by clients who hold group editorial meetings with Group of Seven to decide the content of each issue, and any DHI client can attend and contribute to the magazine. The OTW team have become experts in covering important issues in an entertaining way.”

The man behind the jokesAndrew Campbell is OTW’s resident joke writer; he has been involved in its production since 2011. Andrew was seeking help to overcome long-term unemployment and assist his recovery, and OTW provided an opportunity to develop

his professional writing skills. For many contributors, OTW is an impressive addition to their CV, teaching them valuable skills. Feedback from readers is that OTW is a great source of support, knowledge and inspiration. As Andrew explains, the fact that OTW is written by and for DHI clients means that writers can talk openly about difficult subjects: “Others can read articles about problems like addiction and know that they are not going through it alone.”

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“[Off the Wall exists] solely due to the passion, commitment and talents of the many people who pass through DHI on their road to recovery.”Rosie Phillips

There are many reasons why peer involvement is vital to our services, and therefore many reasons to celebrate Off the Wall’s 10th anniversary.

As our feature demonstrates, peer led initiatives such as OTW can provide a sense of purpose and direction, an outlet for creativity, a way to educate and inform our staff, services and others in recovery, and a way for peers to relate through shared experience.

Perhaps most importantly, peer involvement can empower

individuals and help address stigma and discrimination; as our Bristol Peer Support Service demonstrates (see page 6).Off the Wall (OTW) is not only an interesting read, it provides people with the opportunity to learn new skills and get involved in lots of stimulating ways. Long may it continue!

Meanwhile young peers from Motiv8, our Wiltshire young person’s

treatment service, were involved in another successful DHI collaboration with The Natural Theatre Company.

Peer involvement is not a complete solution to major health and social issues, but it is a significant and valuable component in a range of interventions at DHI that seek to ensure positive change is

sustained by empowering our clients. We are very proud of it.

A word from our CEO…

The OTW team meet John Taylor from Duran Duran

Off The Wall Turns Ten! Continued…

Rosie Phillips, our CEO, congratulates Andrew on his work for OTW

Issue 9 DHI Friends

We would like to invite you to …

Our 2015 Annual EventRising to the ChallengeWednesday 11th November, 6:00-8:00pmThe Guildhall, High Street, Bath BA1 5AW

Guest speaker: Stephen Robertson, CEO, Big Issue Foundation

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This will be an opportunity to celebrate another year with us and to get a better understanding of what we do and the challenges facing our clients in the current climate. Speaking of our 2014 Annual Event, Councillor Vic Pritchard said:

“I met people who had previously plunged into seemingly hopeless addictions from which there appeared no return until, with the help of DHI, they were able to return to normal productive lives.”

RSVP to events@dhibath.org.uk

Rosie Phillips, Phil Hammond & previous winner of a Client Achievement Award

D HI and Wiltshire Council teamed up with the Natural Theatre Company to

create an interactive production educating young people on Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) or legal highs.

As part of NPS Awareness Week we worked together to design a fun and accessible piece of theatre that would get young people thinking about the risks that legal highs can carry. The production toured schools in Wiltshire for a week, culminating in three public performances in Trowbridge County Hall on 2nd October.

Statistics show that increasing numbers of young people are experimenting with legal highs, so the key objective of this production was to warn that the legality of a drug doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s safe.

Legal highs can have serious health implications and, because they have not been tested for human consumption, many of their effects are still unknown. Moreover, as their packaging rarely discloses a full list of ingredients, it is impossible to know exactly what is being sold.

The award-winning Natural Theatre Company worked closely with our staff and young clients with experience of NPS use to create a piece that was both engaging for young audiences and informative.

Feedback from the schools has been hugely positive: students described the performance as

“fun but with a serious message” and “full of information”.

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Dr Pedlar and Doris spread the word on legal highsOur collaboration with the award-winning Natural Theatre Company resulted in a high-impact production raising awareness of ‘legal highs’ or NPS in Wiltshire schools.

For more information about Motiv8, or to access their services, telephone 0800 1696136 or email info@dhimotiv8.org.uk.

For more information on NPS and illegal drugs visit our SPACED website: spaced-sg.org.uk

DHI and Solon lead new service addressing gap between alcohol treatment and housing services.

The Post Alcohol Detox (PAD) project will work with clients who are street homeless or precariously

housed and have undergone an unplanned alcohol detox,

something that usually happens in hospital as

the result of an injury or urgent health issue.

Until now these clients have been discharged post-

detox only to find they are faced with homelessness or a stressful housing situation, putting them at high risk of suffering a relapse.

Clearly such vulnerable people put a strain on local welfare, police and probation services, yet fail to get the level or continuity of support needed to make a long-term recovery.

In response to this issue, DHI and Solon are leading local organisations in an innovative pilot, which has been designed to coordinate services and ensure that no client falls between the cracks. From November 2015 at the point of detox these clients will be referred to the PAD Project, who will

be able to oversee their transition back into the community.

The PAD Project will offer clients accommodation in DHI and Solon’s supported housing, prescriptions to assist with their medical detox, and a full package of emotional and practical support. In keeping with our values here at DHI, PAD will take a holistic view of client needs and aim to work with each individual to provide the assistance they need to make a full recovery.

There will be a wide range of support on offer, including housing and benefits advice, gym access and even alternative therapies like acupuncture.

The production also encouraged anyone who wants to know more about NPS, or anyone who is struggling with substance abuse issues, to get in touch with our Motiv8 service. Motiv8 is our free, confidential young person’s service in Wiltshire, which provides advice, information and support to anyone 18 or under who is experiencing problems with alcohol or drug use.

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Holistic help for vulnerable clients

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A grant from Public Health England means that we can now provide our Bristol Peer Supporters with a fantastic Peer Hub, complete with a training suite, an IT café, a one-to-one meeting space and plenty of resources to enable their work as supporters.

Since starting our peer service in Bristol, a part of Bristol ROADS (Recovery Orientated Alcohol and Drugs Service), there has been a great deal of interest from people with their own experience of drug and alcohol issues wishing to become Peer Supporters.

We’ve been constantly impressed by this enthusiasm to ‘give something back’ and help others, and by what a difference this makes to the recoveries of those they support. The service has really grown fast, and as such we

identified a need for Peers to have their own IT facilities, resources and rooms with which to run peer led groups and activities.

The space has proved hugely popular already, particularly the IT facilities, lack of which can be a real barrier to people facing social exclusion. Peers can use these computers to update their CVs and search for work or volunteering opportunities – simple things that make a huge difference in the road to recovery: 16 of our Bristol Peers have been successfully supported into paid employment so far!

As a charity we could not continue to offer our services without the support and donations from our sponsors. You can use the below link to raise funds for us through a fun activity of your own choice:www.justgiving.com/dhi/

“Peer supporter training helped me to gain my own independence and to learn to help.”Aisha, Bristol Peer Supporter

New home for Bristol Peers

Reachcelebrates fourth anniversaryOur Reach Floating Support Service, which provides support and advice to help homeless, socially excluded or otherwise vulnerable people to live independently recently celebrated its fourth birthday. In that time the service has gone from strength to strength. Reach now works with approximately 200 clients at any one time, and in 2014/15 71% of homeless clients were successfully supported into secure accommodation, and 90% of those leaving the service had been supported to live independently.

If you need support you can contact Reach Floating Support Services on: T: 01225 422156M: 07917 637846info@dhireach.org.ukwww.dhireach.org.uk

Goodbye Ben!We would like to wish farewell and good luck to Ben McFarland, our Bristol Services Manager, who is moving to Germany with his family. Thanks for all your hard work Ben, we will miss you!

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News in brief

Police & Crime Commissioner meets service usersAvon & Wiltshire Police & Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens visited our Bath treatment centre, The Beehive, in August to meet with our staff and service users and find out about how our services contribute to the local community. It was wonderful to have Sue really listen to our clients and their stories, and she said she was “delighted to have more knowledge of [our] work”.

Social prescribing success DHI were asked to present at the National Association of Provider (NAPO) on the back of its innovative and successful South Gloucestershire Social Prescribing service. NAPO is a forum aimed at helping GPs rethink the way care is provided, so this was a golden opportunity to raise DHI’s profile, influence national decision making and spread the word on the power of social prescribing.

We are proud to have been awarded the ‘Two Ticks’ positive about disability symbol, as part of a Jobcentre Plus scheme to recognise organisations that are committed to providing employment, support and development opportunities to staff with disabilities.

We aim to reflect our values in every area of our organisation, and this is an important acknowledgement that we are doing just that in our employment practices.

Join us!We are always keen to recruit more volunteers at DHI. We have a number of volunteering opportunities available from work in the open air on our allotment to admin support in our head office in Milsom Street.

PlEASE CONTACT

Volunteers @dhi-online.org.uk

or for more information visit

www.dhi-online.org.uk/volunteering

Don’t be a strangerWe have strengthened our social media activity and we’re now regularly updating Facebook and Twitter. Follow us for updates on our work and Share or Like our posts to help us raise awareness of important issues.

@DHI_Online

/DevelopingHealth Independence

Developing Health & Independence15/16 Milsom Street, Bath BA1 1DE tel: 01225 478730 web: www.dhi-online.org.ukCompany No. 3830311 Registered Charity No. 1078154

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News in brief continued …

Positive about disability

Project 28 visits the BBCChildren in Need generously invited three young people from our Project 28 service to visit the BBC studios in London. They were given the chance to take part in an interview on Springwatch, to help film Flog It!, and to wander the studios asking questions. It was a really exciting day out, and we learnt a lot about how the BBC and TV production works. Thank you Pudsey!