A NATIONAL addiction support charity is extending its service reach to support homeless people, including in Southampton.

Change Grow Live – the health and social care charity, which is the UK’s largest provider of drug and alcohol treatment services - has announced the opening of 18 new homeless outreach services across England.

These services will provide specialist care and support for rough sleepers struggling with drug and alcohol addiction.

The opening of these new services has been made possible by funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, supported by Public Health England as part of a two-year programme of funding aimed at rough sleepers with drug and alcohol dependency.

Specialist homeless outreach services will be opened in London in the Boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Ealing, Newham, Southwark, Barnet, Lewisham and Westminster.

Outside of London, services will open in Brighton & Hove, Southend, Luton, Cambridge, Peterborough, Manchester, Birmingham, Reading, North and Central Lancashire (Preston), Northamptonshire and Southampton.

Specialist teams in these areas will deliver on-the-spot street-based interventions, meaning that people living on the streets will be able to access professional clinical support quickly and effectively, without the need to wait for referrals from a third-party.

The new services will employ in the region of 130 new staff in a wide range of health and social care roles, providing professional wrap-around support for rough sleepers with complex needs. Teams on the ground will include Prison Link Workers, Complex Needs Navigators, Assertive Outreach Nurses, Clinical Psychologists, Homeless Recovery Workers and Homeless Rehab Workers.

Teams will benefit from strong links with rough sleeping communities, not least from existing Change Grow Live outreach teams that have supported the national ‘Everyone In’ initiative, and vaccination programmes aimed at people without secure accommodation.

Lesley Howard, National Homelessness Lead at Change Grow Live, said: “The opening of 18 new specialist outreach services across England is a landmark moment. Each service will help us to provide effective, evidence-based support for people struggling with homelessness and substance misuse.

“130 new specialist staff working pro-actively across England will increase the visibility of substance misuse services and make it easier for individuals sleeping rough to access wrap-around support. Our outreach teams are trained to engage and build relationships with people with multiple, complex needs, to increase levels of engagement with vital treatment and enable people to get the help they need to rebuild their lives off the streets.”

Information about Change Grow Live's support available in Southampton can be found on their website.