A new service has been introduced to help homeless and drug-using vulnerable people.
The Specialist Housing Support Service by Bristol charity ARA, Recovery for All, will employ 10 new employees who will concentrate on various facets of recovery and housing with the goal of assisting those with drug and alcohol needs maintain tenancies.
According to the charity, one in six people nationwide who are in drug and alcohol recovery have a housing issue.
For their clients to be "better able to engage with their drug and alcohol recovery," Robbie Thornhill, Director of Recovery and Resettlement at ARA, said they wanted to help them "sustain tenancies.". ".
When you don't have a safe place to live, trying to recover is like trying to drive a car without a steering wheel, according to Robbie Thornhill. ".
Since its founding in 1997, ARA has provided services related to homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction, mental health care, and other interventions that support recovery.
According to Mr. Thornhill, trying to recover when you don't have a safe place to live is like trying to drive a car without a steering wheel because you can't stay on the road. ".
The new service, which is funded until September 2024, enlists the help of charities, hospitals, prisons, and the council, with a focus on helping vulnerable people find and maintain homes and then integrating them into the community.
Mr. Thornhill continued, "This service is a way to bring the pertinent agencies together, focus them, and face them in the same way.".
Bristol, according to Shelter's Vicki Burn, is experiencing a "housing emergency.".
Shelter employee Vicki Burn, who works on housing rights, said: "It was really great to hear that such a wrap-around service is going to focus not just on housing, but recovery, mental health, and so many other things, especially as the city faces a housing emergency.
People are well aware that they risk becoming homeless if they lose their homes. ".
The launch was attended by Ms. Burn, who stated: "In Bristol, there is a massive shortage of supply and demand; there are 19,000 families waiting for housing, and 9,000 of those applicants are deemed to have an urgent need. ".
Once we've placed them in a home, we can begin to assist them in making changes to their lives, according to ARA Chairman Tony Collins. ".
Tony Collins, the ARA's chair, stated: "We want to instill in them a sense of ambition about changing their lives.
This type of lifelong changing program. Recovery can take a lifetime of work, in my opinion, unlike getting over a common cold, which you can do in a month. ".
"I believe that's what we're trying to achieve here—do whatever it takes to reach these people and engage them once more in a different way of life. ".
He continued, "Once we get them into a home, we can start to help them change their lives.
