People who have a history of alcohol-related problems are to be supported with a new service that will help them to become active citizens and re-engage with their communities in Carmarthenshire. A grant for just under £1 million has been awarded today to health and social care organisation Turning Point by the Big Lottery Fund in Wales (the Stepping Stones project) to provide this service.
People with alcohol misuse problems usually face a number of barriers which stop them from accessing education and training or entering employment. However, Turning Point is to provide an innovative new service, which aims to give people the life skills, and inspire the confidence they need to find a job and to cope with day-to-day life in the workplace.
The ‘Carmarthenshire Life Skills Project’, based in the area around Carmarthen, Llanelli and Ammanford, will run drop-in sessions, group work programmes and individual support. The service will provide:
- Help for people with a history of alcohol misuse to reduce their drinking.
- Support to enable people with alcohol problems to develop life skills. Support ranges from anger management to debt advice.
- Information and advice to enable people to move into education, training or employment, for instance by helping with job searching, CV writing, interview and presentation skills.
Turning Point’s Locality Manager for Wales, Sue Humphreys, says:
“There is a desperate need to support those with problems associated with alcohol misuse in Wales, but all too often the funding just simply isn’t there. Now though, this grant offer is a fantastic opportunity to help one specific group that normally misses out. This is an excellent way of getting people with a history of alcohol-related problems to re-engage in society and to live productive lives in their communities in Carmarthenshire.”
Highlighting the importance of the programme, Big Lottery Fund Wales Country Chair, Huw Vaughan Thomas, says:
“There is very little funding available for informal life skills work but Stepping Stones aims to fill that void. This and the other projects involved will make a big difference in communities by enabling people to function independently, communicate and integrate with others and help them adopt healthy behaviours. In turn, these skills will help them participate in community life and maximise their training and employment opportunities.”
Drop-in sessions, both at the service base in Llanelli and in surrounding towns and villages, will provide an informal environment in which people can find out about the support which Turning Point offers and how people can access the service. Sessions will be run by the project team and volunteers in easily-accessible community venues.
For more information: Steve Palmer
Turning Point Press Officer
020 7481 7630
Out of hours and mobile 07786 938 601
www.turning-point.co.uk
Notes to editors
- Turning Point have a giant Big Lottery Fund in Wales cheque that can be photographed along with members of staff. Spokespeople available to comment in Welsh and English.
- National Lottery Fund in Wales: Stepping Stones: Nine community projects throughout the country are benefiting from the £6,964,487 cash roll out, which will support projects that act as stepping-stones for people with significant barriers to learning to acquire the life skills that will enable them to manage their lives, contribute to their communities, re-engage in learning, volunteering and employment.
- The grant offer is for £997,927 over three years. This will provide for a Service Manager and a team of six support staff, to work with people who have a history of alcohol misuse and have already completed a rehabilitation programme. The service will offer education, skills training, drop-in, group work and employment opportunities. All service users will be aged over 18 and will live in towns and villages across Carmarthenshire. Bases will be in Carmarthen, Llanelli and Ammanford. These towns have been chosen because of their good transport links. Also, Llanelli is highlighted as an area with high levels of substance misuse.
- People with alcohol problems often experience poor physical and/or mental health, have difficult family relationships, have debt problems and housing issues. Most people will have low self-esteem and confidence, which can be reinforced by previous bad experiences of employment and education and by a perceived stigma around alcohol misuse. Patchy levels of education and training and the chaotic lifestyles often associated with alcohol misuse can mean that they cannot begin to address these problems without appropriate support.Until they begin to develop life skills and address these problems, many will not be able to make the transition to education, training or employment.
- The core of the programme will be a series of 12 week life skills group work programmes run in Llanelli. The content of each programme will be determined by the needs of those participating but it is expected that issues covered during the sessions will include anger management, communication skills, building confidence, parenting, money management skills and debt advice, building confidence, improving communications skills, and health and nutrition. There will also be sessions specifically on helping people prevent a relapse into alcohol misuse.
- Each person who is referred to, or refers themselves to, the project will go through a comprehensive assessment process. They will work with a Project Worker to highlight their specific needs and short, medium and long term goals, which then determine the package of support they receive.
- Project outcome projections: 340 adults with alcohol problems to have increased life and social skills; 238 of these adults to enter education, training or employment; 255 of these adults not relapse into problematic alcohol use after 6 months of engaging with the project.
- Big Lottery Fund in Wales is at http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/wales and Big Lottery Fund Cymru is at http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/welsh/wales
- Turning Point is the UK’s leading social care organisation. It provides services for people with complex needs, including those affected by drug and alcohol misuse, mental health problems and those with a learning disability.
- Turning Point operates in England and Wales. Turning Point Cymru provides support to help people who have had or have a drug problem, to gain jobs or training. This scheme is called Progress2work and operates in Cardiff, Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot. Turning Point’s experience of running Progress2work has shown that there are many people in Wales who would benefit from the kind of support offered by the Carmarthenshire Life Skills Project.
Turning Point Cymru:
/About+Us/Turning+Point+Cymru/
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This press release is also available in Welsh