- Area:
- England
- Release date:
- 23 7 2012
People struggling under a heavy load of severe problems - homelessness, reoffending, substance misuse and mental ill-health - are being given help to improve their lives through an investment of up to £100 million from the Big Lottery Fund (BIG).
BIG’s funding will help services come together to ensure they provide tailored support for people with multiple and complex needs who live chaotic lives.
It is estimated that there are 60,000 adults in England with multiple needs* – many of whom lack effective contact with services that meet not just one, but all their needs. These multiple issues exacerbate each other and can lead to a downward spiral of ill-health and harm to the individuals themselves, family and society as a whole.
With this investment, BIG will support these individuals by bringing different services together to prevent them rotating around various welfare and justice systems which can deepen the problems in their lives.
Supporting the initiative, Mitch Winehouse, who alongside family members established The Amy Winehouse Foundation last September, said: “Since losing my daughter Amy, I have been dedicated to supporting charities that help young people in need – in particular those struggling with an addiction or health issue. So I am extremely pleased to hear that the Big Lottery Fund is investing this money to bring organisations together to offer people of all ages more tailored support to deal with all the different needs that they may have.”
BIG is focusing on 15 areas where there is a significant concentration of people with multiple needs and where there are organisations with a track record and able to take on the challenge of providing better connected support services to help people live more fulfilling lives.
Organisations tackling homelessness, reoffending, addiction and mental ill health, will be invited to create partnerships in each area, led by a voluntary and community sector organisation. Their aim will be to bring together other local services, fill gaps in local provision, share results and lessons and involve the beneficiaries in the delivery of the project.
Jodie, 30, from Manchester, has been in and out of services relating to her drug and alcohol misuse. She also developed an eating disorder and mental health issues. Jodie’s experience is one of disjointed services, frustration, having to fight for funding to enter detox and “slipping through the net a lot”. Jodie was hospitalised at 18 for a year due to anorexia. On discharge, she found virtually no support in place and a three year waiting list for the service that did exist.
Jodie said: “There was one place for alcohol only, one for drugs, one for mental health, one for housing. It’s difficult to get support for every aspect of your life – it’s easy to give up when the system works against you.”
Over the eight-year investment, BIG will gather evidence that will shed light on more effective and efficient ways of organising and delivering services for people with multiple needs and the significant savings in health and criminal justice costs.
Nat Sloane, Big Lottery Fund England Chair, said “This eight year investment of up to £100 million is aimed at improving the stability, confidence and capability of people who are living in the most chaotic circumstances with multiple and complex needs so they lead more fulfilling lives and have better life chances as a result of timely, joined up and supportive services.”
He adds: “It is not just people, but communities that are impacted by ineffective contact with support services. Department of Health figures suggest it is four times more expensive for hospitals to care for homeless people. Also Home Office research has suggested a problem drug user costs the government £10,400 a year in reactive expenditure and in social costs around £35,450.”
Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of the mental health charity Mind, said: "We welcome this significant long-term investment by the Big Lottery Fund and hope that it will help create improved services and lead to better outcomes for people with multiple needs and exclusions.
"Thousands of people with mental health problems face a multitude of challenges such as homelessness and substance abuse, yet all too often the joined-up tailored services they need are simply not available. Passed from pillar to post many go on to lead chaotic lives and are more likely to be in contact with emergency services and the criminal justice system rather than suitably integrated support services. We hope that this funding will make a real difference to their lives, and change the way that all services for this most vulnerable group will be delivered."
Campbell Robb, chief executive at Shelter, said: “Every day at Shelter we help people who are desperately struggling to keep a roof over their heads. From our experience we know that many people are often facing a complex set of problems, and only by working to address all of their needs as a whole can we help break the cycle of homelessness they often face.
“We very much welcome the Big Lottery Fund’s commitment to invest in these integrated services that will help homeless people get back on their feet. Particularly at a time when more and more people are finding it hard to make ends meet, we hope this will make a big impact on the lives of many vulnerable people.”
The 15 areas that BIG is focusing on are:
Great Yarmouth
Nottingham
Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark
Camden & Islington
Newcastle/Gateshead
Tees Valley (including Middlesbrough)
Liverpool
Manchester
Blackpool
Brighton & Hove, Eastbourne and Hastings
Bristol
Plymouth
Stoke on Trent
Birmingham
West Yorkshire
Further Information
Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours media contact: 07867 500 572
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Ask BIG a question here: https://ask.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Follow BIG on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BigLotteryFund #BIGlf
Find BIG on facebook: www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFund
Notes to Editors
*Making Every Adult Matter (2009).
Victor Adebowale, Chief Executive of Turning Point, said: “This investment by the Big Lottery Fund into multiple complex needs over the next five to eight years has the potential to help some of the most vulnerable in our communities turn their lives around. Organisations, successful in bidding for this money will be able to develop innovative solutions that provide people with multiple needs access to the high quality, tailored services they deserve.
“People with complex needs often fall through gaps in provision due to a lack of integrated funding and commissioning. Currently there are pockets of excellence where services are working together. This initiative can provide an opportunity to really test and share leaning from integrated services across geographies to stop people being trapped in a cycle that’s hard to break.”
Rob Owen, Chief Executive of St Giles Trust, said: “We very much welcome this investment by the Big Lottery. It is a step towards helping some of the most needy people in our society. The clients St Giles Trust works with typically fall through the gaps in the silos of state and other support structures. Our work involves bridging these gaps and bringing together multiple agencies to work for the benefit of our clients.”
An assessment by the London School of Economics of the economic value of Turning Point’s Hertfordshire complex needs service based on three cases studies which were examined before and after the report:
- For every £1 invested in a client through the Complex Needs Service there is a net reduction in demand for public services worth between £4.40 and £28.
- In addition, the economic value to society of the quality of life, life expectancy and related improvements for these clients has been calculated as between £11,000 to £55,000.
The CIC Resolving Chaos research highlights the disproportionate costs incurred by ineffective and reactive contact with services. (Personal Social Services Research Unit, University of Kent, Unit Costs of Social Care.)
- A year in prison costs £40,000 whereas a community punishment and rehabilitation order costs £4,000.
- An eviction typically costs £8,000 whereas a tenancy support worker costs £21 per hour.
- An ambulance call out costs £287 whereas a short journey by taxi costs £13.
- An arrest costs £1,692 whereas a community link worker costs £16 per hour.
The Big Lottery Fund:
- The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
- BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since June 2004 BIG has awarded over £4.4bn.
- The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
- Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £28 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
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