Meeting the housing needs of people with drug and alcohol problems

Introduction

Welcome to the housing section of the Housing and Employment pages.

Having a decent place to live is really important for all of us. It is essential for people who are engaged in drug and alcohol treatment and trying to turn their lives around. Stable accommodation is recognised nationally as a key ingredient in a person’s recipe for recovery from drug and alcohol dependency.

N-DAP is responding to the issue of housing people with drug/alcohol problems. We recognise that it is a complex area with a wide spectrum of possible responses. Homeless people often have drug/alcohol problems. Crisis research with homeless people (2003) noted that 51% had alcohol problems and 57% had drug problems. The challenge facing agencies providing supported housing is that many people in need of their help are likely to be using drugs/alcohol.

N-DAP has produced a guide for providers and commissioners of supported housing services as a framework to use when thinking through the delivery of housing for people with drug/alcohol problems. It also provides benchmarks against which providers working across a broad spectrum can compare themselves. Its ultimate aim is to support housing providers and Commissioners looking to make their contribution to increasingly successful outcomes for people with drug/alcohol problems, their families and the wider community.

You can access a copy of “The Spectrum of Possibility” Guide from the “Publications” link in the “About N-DAP” box on the Home Page.

If you follow the links below, we’ve also put together some of the Frequently Asked Questions we get from housing providers about the issues that the Guide aims to address, some key resources you may find useful (we do), and a contact list of folk around Norfolk who may be able to help you with issues you have or ideas you’d like to take forward. On top of that, you can also download all the (big) reports and findings generated from the Needs Assessment work that we undertook in 2008, in partnership with the Supporting People Programme. We hope you find all this useful.

FAQ

Resources

Contacts

Housing Needs Assessment Review report July 2008 (.doc)

Housing needs assessment Final report review and prediction September 2008 (.doc)

Review and predictive model Housing needs assessment of substance misusers (.ppt)

N-DAP Housing Capital Bidding Pack

Click here to download the guidance and application form. Deadline for submission 30th October 2009.

Outreaching Substance Misusers - a guide for all professionals working within an outreach setting

In 2007 the Norfolk Drug and Alcohol Partnership (N-DAP) Housing Group published guidance for providers of supported accommodation who house people using substances (see above). Through the process of launching and training around that guide we were made aware that there was demand for a companion guide with a community focus. The aim of this new guide is to provide useful best practice information for people whose professional roles include visiting substance users in their own accommodation.

Click here to download the Outreaching Substance Misusers guide

To accompany the new Outreach Guide, N-DAP are funding a training course for workers who are involved in delivering in-reach and outreach support services for people with substance misuse issues living in their own accommodation. For more information go to our Training Page and scroll down.