Tuesday 13 Sep 2011 @ 13:01
Homeless Link
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Charities call on political leaders to turn the tide for the most excluded
Around 60,000 adults facing multiple needs and exclusions are being let down by services, living chaotic lives and facing premature death because as a society we fail to understand and coordinate the support they need, say leading charities.
Revolving Doors Agency and the Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM) coalition - formed of Clinks, DrugScope, Homeless Link and Mind - are today launching a vision paper setting out how the situation and its huge social and financial costs can be addressed and urging political leaders from all parties to take action.
People facing multiple needs and exclusions experience a combination of problems such as mental ill health, substance misuse, homelessness and contact with the criminal justice system. At the same time communities suffer from crime and anti-social behaviour; local
services are disrupted for other users; and there are large bills for the public purse through frequent arrest, prison sentences and ambulance call outs.
Published today, Turning the tide: A Vision Paper for multiple needs and exclusions sets out how this damage can be prevented. It outlines our vision: that in every local area people experiencing multiple needs and exclusions are supported by effective, coordinated services, with small teams helping people access the support they need and all agencies being flexible in their responses to this group. In the current financial climate it makes sense for all agencies to find new ways of working and collaborating.
Turning the Tide suggests that despite some good progress it is clear that local services cannot achieve this vision alone. It calls for a new approach from national government to create an environment in which it becomes the norm for leaders in local areas to put coordinated services in place.
The paper sets out five building blocks on which the government can base this new approach. These are:
- Communicating a clear message that tackling multiple needs and exclusions is a government priority
- Defining and identifying people experiencing multiple needs and exclusions
- Creating accountability, leadership and transparency
- Making outcomes and commissioning work for this group
- Getting the finances right in local areas
