If we can share that

lived experience, its a

kind of alchemy Peer
Mentoring Launch, p4

Celebrating another
year - photos from our
annual event at the
Bath Guildhall, p5

DHI Friends
DHI Friends newsletter #10 Spring 2016

www.dhi-online.org.uk

Tackling the Roots

of Domestic Violence
DHI works with perpetrators to end violence and create long-term change.

here has been a lot of attention on services

offered to domestic violence perpetrators
in the news recently. Five years ago we
began our Resolve to Stop the Violence
Programme (RSVP), working with perpetrators
in Bath and Bristol, through an innovative
programme which helps aggressors to understand
and change their controlling and violent behaviour.
Support for victims of violence is crucial.
However, we also believe that domestic violence
cannot be overcome without working with
perpetrators to challenge the social, cultural and
attitudinal issues that contribute to their behaviour.
The alternative is risking that they go on to
reoffend and create further suffering.
Kevin, our Bristol Services Manager, explains
that the power of RSVP lies not only in the
changes seen in the lives of clients and their
families, but also in the impact these changes have

Continued on page 2

Inside this issue: A perpetrators story of recovery / Support for Steroid Users
Our CEO reflects back on our 20 year history / Welcoming Syrian Refugees

DHI Friends

Issue 10

Tackling the
Roots of Domestic
Violence
Continued
in the wider community: whats
important about this work is that it
creates advocates in the community
saying actually, thats not the way
that you deal with anger, there are
other options that you have, there
are choices that you can make. And
thats what I think is powerful, its
embedded in the community.
RSVP was developed after our
team recognised a group of men
in our drug and alcohol treatment
services that acknowledged
problems with their violent
behaviour but could not find the
support necessary to break their
behavioural patterns. It is a course of
10 one-to-one sessions, throughout
which clients are offered the tools
and techniques to manage feelings of
anger and to communicate positively
with loved ones, without using
violence or aggression. Substance
misuse is often an accompanying
factor to these behaviours, and
the majority of clients will also be
referred into our drug and alcohol
treatment services.

We frequently see several

women come through our
services with the same
perpetrator and only wish that
the perpetrator could also be
referred for support, for his
own sake and that of the
women he abuses
Anna Smith, CEO of Survive
2

Avon & Somerset

Police and Crime
Commissioner Sue
Mountstevens visited
our RSVP team and met
with ex-service user, Joe,
as part of her work to
end violence against
women and girls.

Joes Story
Joe, a past RSVP client, feels compelled to tell his
story and let as many people as possible know
that help is available and change is possible.

oe had a difficult
childhood and struggled
with opiate addiction
from the age of 17. He
had fallen into a pattern of
destructive behaviour towards
his partners, and in anger would
resort to aggression.
He came to DHI seeking
support to tackle his substance
misuse, and soon came to realise
that he also needed support to
break this cycle of violence:
For me [the programme] was
a self-discovery, about why
Im doing this, whats setting
me off. He now recognises
that feelings of powerlessness
resulting from addiction and
unemployment led him to assert
control in relationships through
aggression. He describes the
techniques he has learnt to
deal with feelings of anger,
explaining how something as

simple as taking a time out can

allow him to catch his breath
and reflect on why those feelings
have emerged. He has learnt to
communicate his feelings to his
partner and treat her with respect
and patience: I cant control
her, I dont try to manipulate the
situation any more [...] Im more
mindful of other people now.
Joe has been completely clean
from drugs for 5.5 months and
is confident in his recovery. He
has trained as a peer mentor
with DHI and now also mentors
with Salvation Army and Golden
Key. This desire to share his
experiences comes from a wish
to ensure that others like him are
able to access support to change;
a desire to encourage others by
showing that the cycle can be
broken, and from the recognition
that by helping others he is
cementing his own recovery.

Issue 10

DHI Friends

A Word from the CEO

his April it is 20 years

since I began working
for Bath Self Help
Housing Association
(BSHHA) to set up a new
project, Stall Street, an early
incarnation of what would
become DHIs flagship detox
supported housing project,
Burlington Street. With plans
to purchase this property in the
coming year, it feels like things
have come full circle for DHI!
My role was to develop Stall
Street as a supported housing
project attempting to bridge the
gap between drug and alcohol
treatment and housing services.
As my interest and passion grew
so did the project, and soon DHI
parted from BSHHA to focus on
developing interlinked services
for the socially excluded, be that
as a result of substance misuse,
homelessness or other reasons.
As the name suggests, Bath
Self Help Housing Association
was an organisation dedicated
to empowering people with
the tools and opportunities to

shape their own future, and

this remains very much at the
heart of what DHI does, as our
new Peer Mentoring Service
for the Golden Key initiative
demonstrates (see page 4).

We believe in the power of

individuals to make positive
transformations, and will continue
to do all we can to support the
most excluded in our society to
build happy, healthy lives.

DHI Welcomes Syrian Refugees to Bristol

Our social enterprise lettings agency Home Turf Lettings (HTL) has been chosen to assist
Bristol City Council in their pledge to take in Syrian refugees. The first families granted
refugee status will be arriving in Bristol this spring and will be housed in HTL managed
properties. We are honoured to play a role in welcoming them to the city and making them
feel as at home as possible.

DHI Friends

Issue 10

Unlocking the Power of Peers

DHI launches new Peer Mentoring Service as part of Golden Key initiative to
tackle deprivation and social exclusion in Bristol.

he launch of our new

Peer Mentoring Service
at the Trinity Arts
Centre in Bristol on 21st
January saw Mayor of Bristol
George Ferguson take to the
stage, promoting the power
of lived experience and peer
support in tackling the citys most
entrenched issues: homelessness,
addiction and mental ill health.
The Service is led by DHI as
part of the Big Lottery funded
Golden Key partnership, which
seeks to open doors to the
hundreds of people in Bristol
who are locked into a cycle of
deprivation and dependency. As
Nicky, one of our peer mentors,
explained: The people it wants
to reach are those who have been
left behind or discarded for many
years, and its about time that we
try to include everyone. Just that
ethos is brilliant.
We will train people with
lived experience of these issues
to support others in their recovery,
by providing everything from
inspiration and encouragement
to practical support, such as
accompanying clients to hospital
appointments.
This support is invaluable,
as our Peer Mentor Service
Lead Alv explains: If we can
share that lived experience,
its a kind of alchemy, its
something that changes things
within our society, and changes
4

The team
behind our
new Peer
Mentoring
Service

things for individuals. Peer

mentoring is about that alchemy.
Because our peer mentors, just
by being here, are living proof
that change is possible, that
recovery can be a reality.

Thanks to you that have

had the courage to turn your
adversity into something
really positive I will always
celebrate what you do
Mayor of Bristol George Ferguson

Issue 10

DHI Friends

Rising to the Challenge

November saw the biggest event in DHIs
calendar, our Annual Event, take place at
the beautiful Bath Guildhall. Over 100 people
joined us to celebrate the year gone by with
speakers, performances and the ever-inspiring
Client Achievement Awards.

Top: The Mayor of Bath, Will Sandry, congratulates award

winner Andy Nott. Left: Stephen Robertson, CEO of the Big
Issue Foundation, gave a fascinating talk on the powers
of using business enterprise to do good. Above: Jeremy &
Caroline from our Bath & Swindon teams.

DHI Friends

Battling
Steroids

here is increasing concern in

the UK about the use of Image and
Performance Enhancing Drugs
(IPEDs), particularly as traditional drug
treatment services struggle to reach out to
these drug users. IPEDs includes steroids
and weight loss drugs, which pose a high
risk of Blood Borne Viruses (BBV) and
liver and kidney damage.
We are involved in several schemes to
increase access to treatment and support
services for IPEDs users. Our team in
South Gloucestershire runs a weekly
drop in session where IPEDs users can
seek confidential harm reduction advice
and access treatment. This has been well
publicised on social media and numbers
are growing fast.
Meanwhile in B&NES our treatment
staff took part in a pilot to offer advice and
support on IPEDs use at a local gym. There
was a huge uptake, and the pilot was such a
success that we are now looking to expand
the programme to a selection of gyms
across B&NES.

Issue 10

Issue 10

DHI Friends

News in brief

Reach Out 2016

l There were over 8,000 alcohol
related and 3,000 drug related
deaths in England and Wales in
2014. Despite this there is still
a huge taboo around substance
related bereavement. Our 2016
Reach Out conference will feature
a presentation and Q&A from
Lorna Templeton, part of a team of
researchers from the University of
Bath studying the experiences and
needs of families facing substance
related bereavement.
The Reach Out conference
is a chance for families and
carers of people with substance
misuse issues and professionals
to come together and share their
experiences, break down the
stigma and silence surrounding
familial drug use and start an open
discussion about what we can do to
improve the support available.
The conference will take place at the
Somerdale Pavilion in Keynsham,
on 9th June 2016 from 1-4.30pm.
Email events@dhibath.org.uk for
more info or to RSVP.

A Very Merry Christmas!

l Thanks to all who got involved in the Homeless Shoe Box Appeal
for the South West a group on Facebook that collected over 10,000
gifts for homeless people this Christmas. Heres Sarah from our team
in Somerset collecting gifts that went to people in our supported
housing. Your generosity made this Christmas day one to remember.

Shop til You Drop

l DHI has now signed up to Give as You Live,
so you can support our work just by shopping
online! All you need to do is go to www.
giveasyoulive.com and you can shop at thousands
of online stores, who will then give a donation
to the charity of your choice just type in
Developing Health & Independence to help us
continue the fight against social exclusion.
7

DHI Friends

Issue 10

News in brief continued

Join us!
We are always keen to
recruit more volunteers at
DHI. We have a number of
volunteering opportunities
available, from physical
work in the open air on our
allotment to offering admin
support in our head office in
Milsom Street.

PAD Launch
l The Post Alcohol Detox Project is a multi-agency collaboration
that will ensure patients exiting hospital after an alcohol
detox are directly referred into appropriate housing and
support services, offering the stability necessary to stay on
the road to recovery. The launch event in December saw
doctors, commissioners and health and social professionals
gather at Bath Guildhall, where Dr Mark Farrant, consultant
gastroenterologist at the RUH, gave a moving speech explaining
why, for him, this change in approach cannot come soon
enough: The liver gets better amazingly, the patient gets better,
but then we sort of fling them out. And when that happens its
a disaster. Because you make the patient physically better, but
youre dealing with a minute proportion of the whole problem,
and unless the environment is looked after then the patient will
go back to drinking and come back to rehab.

Congratulations...
... to Jess Elmer, who works in our Project 28 team, for
winning a Police and Crime Commissioner Pride Award
recognising her dedication and commitment to working
with young people in Keynsham.

Developing Health & Independence

15/16 Milsom Street, Bath BA1 1DE tel: 01225 478730
web: www.dhi-online.org.uk
Company No. 3830311 Registered Charity No. 1078154

Please contact
volunteers@dhi-online.org.uk
or visit
www.dhi-online.org.uk/
volunteering/
for more information.

Dont be a stranger
We have strengthened our
social media activity and
were now regularly updating
our Facebook page and our
Twitter account. Follow us for
updates on our work and
share or like our posts to
help us raise awareness of
important issues.
@DHI_Online
pages/Developing
HealthIndependence/

Donate
Your donations allow us to
provide essential support to
people facing social exclusion,
to support our work go to:
www.justgiving.com/dhi/