Celebrating the incredible impact of the Changing Futures project

For the last two years, our support brands, Glow and Concrete, have been part of the Stoke-on-Trent Changing Futures programme.

The £64 million programme - funded by the Government's shared outcomes fund and the National Lottery's community fund - provided support to those experiencing combinations of homelessness, substance misuse, mental health issues, domestic abuse and more.

At Honeycomb Group, it meant the addition of two specialist Case Co-ordinators, who worked with Concrete and Glow customers throughout the project.

Throughout the duration of the programme, Glow and Concrete teams supported over 30 individuals who faced a range of complex needs such as addiction, homelessness and domestic abuse.

For our homelessness specialist Concrete, this included George, whose name we’ve changed to protect his identity. The 38-year-old, who has learning difficulties, was referred to Changing Futures following a section 42 safeguarding assessment due to concerns for his wellbeing.

Operations Manager, Rachael Quarmby, shared his story:

“About five years ago George was introduced to monkey dust. He had no history of substance misuse and quickly became addicted. He stopped looking after himself, neglecting his daily activities such as personal hygiene and eating. This prompted concerns of self-neglect. Alongside this, George was being coerced by drug dealers. They took advantage of his vulnerabilities and used his flat as their own. They followed him home and wouldn’t leave. This caused disruption which led to his neighbours complaining.

“When he received his weekly benefit payments, they’d follow him to the cashpoint and leave him with just £50 a week for all of his bills and food. He experienced significant financial challenges and would have to borrow from others, including his friends and family. This put a strain on relationships and caused them to break down. George lost a lot of his positive support and felt alone.

“George was supported by his Case Co-ordinator to leave his flat and find safer accommodation. Now he has access to support with everything from cooking and cleaning to budgeting and managing finances. He also started working with CDAS (Stoke-on-Trent Drug and Alcohol Service) to address drug addiction. He worked on coping mechanisms and learned how to start advocating for himself.

“George now has some really good peer support in place. He loves meeting new people, making new friends and putting himself forward for opportunities. He was taken advantage of before, but his Case Co-ordinator worked with him to recognise any triggers and signs. Now he wants to support others going through similar situations to what he went through. He wants to help them by sharing his journey and his road to recovery, by inspiring others and raising awareness.”

For Glow, this included Jessica, whose name has been changed to protect her identity. The 47-year-old had experienced health issues and addiction, including monkey dust. Changing Futures supported Jessica to find secure accommodation and used a personal budget to help her make her new flat feel like a home, with practical items and home furnishings.

Service Manager Donna Boon shared more about the impact of Changing Futures’ support on Jessica:

“Jessica really enjoys cleaning her flat and likes to keep it tidy. It’s her way of showing how far she’s come; how independent she is and how seriously she’s taking her new responsibility.

“She has also enjoyed doing ‘normal’ things with her Case Co-ordinator, such as going to Hanley for a couple of hours to shop and have lunch, which she said was ‘lovely’.”

Click here to find out more about our support brands, Glow and Concrete.