Birmingham Changing Futures Together, which improves the effectiveness of service provision to people with multiple and complex needs, is inviting the city’s business leaders to spend a morning with its Peer Mentors and Lead workers on the front line.
“Homelessness in Birmingham, which is three times the national average, affects everyone living and working in the city,” explained Natalie Allen, Programmes Director of Birmingham Changing Futures Together.
“The business community can make a big difference to the wellbeing of the city and those who live here. We’re inviting business leaders to #walkthefrontline because we want their energies and resources directed in such a way as to have the biggest, positive impact.
“Once on the frontline they will better understand the decision making of some of the city’s most vulnerable people, the importance of building their trust if behaviour is to change, and the power of Peer Mentors, people with lived experience, in building that trust.”
Homeless people are often seen as a problem to be dealt with by moving it along. A new approach, based on seeing the person as a whole individual, is achieving sustainable change.
Many of the city’s political and third sector leaders have already taken part in #walkthefrontline. They include Jess Phillips MP, Councillor John Cotton, Sian Warner (Head of CGL) and Dr Adrian Phillips (Director of Public Health, Birmingham Public Health), with others scheduled to participate in the coming months.
Natalie Allen continued: “My day on the front line brought me face-to-face with the reality for many people. I met someone on probation who had pleaded for a prison sentence as a safer option, a man suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a person coping with rent when benefits have been delayed and another experiencing ‘cold turkey’ withdrawal from Mamba.
“The main thing I learnt was not wanting to die doesn’t equate to having a reason to live. These vulnerable people need something different; the flexibility and longevity of the support offered by our Peer Mentors and Lead Workers is crucial.”
The Lead Worker and Peer Mentor Service is a key component of the Changing Futures Together Programme. Working with individuals with three or more of the multiple and complex needs addressed by Birmingham Changing Futures Together – offending behaviour, drug and / or alcohol misuse, homelessness and mental health problems – the Service gives clients the sustained, tailored support they need.
The combination of a Lead Worker with a proven track record in support provision and a Peer Mentor whose lived experience enables them to quickly form a trust-based bond with clients. The evidence indicates clients engage better where peer mentors are present, increasing the likelihood of lasting change.
Birmingham Changing Futures Together core group members are CGL, Mind, Midland Heart, St Basils, BVSC, Shelter, West Midlands Police, Staffordshire & West Midlands Probation Trust, Sifa Fireside, Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Fire Service, Birmingham South Central Clinical Commissioning Group and Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.
