Description of the contract
FURTHER INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND IN SERVICE SPECIFICATION
This is a 12 month fixed term pilot project to provide support to people with mental health issues who may also be using substances, and to conduct research into novel psychoactive substance (NPS) use and the support available in Denbighshire.
The project will support people with mental health issues that may be undiagnosed or currently undergoing assessment. They may be using substances to manage mental health symptoms, or their use of substances may be the trigger for increased symptoms of poor mental health. The project will have a particular focus on NPS and will support service users who may not recognise they have an issue and/or may not feel the need to access traditional services.
Service users will be aged 16 and above, any gender, and will be resident in Denbighshire. Service users may be single or part of a couple, and may or may not have dependent children. Service users will be homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and identified as needing support to enable them to manage their tenancy independently. Support will be time limited at a maximum of 3 months, after which service users should have developed the skills to independently access any ongoing support they may need.
The project will support a minimum of 15 people at any one time. Support worker hours will be managed dynamically and will be allocated flexibly in response to service user need. The project will be expected to have the capacity to accept urgent referrals as may be required from time to time.
Staff will deliver support activities in appropriate settings in the community including the service users’ own homes (which might include Supported Housing and temporary accommodation).
The aim of the research is to investigate:
• the prevalence of NPS use in Denbighshire
• whether this is an area of increasing demand and how this might be having an impact on homelessness
• the impact of NPS use on mental health
• what support or advice is currently available and how accessible and effective this is
• whether there are any barriers to support for people using NPS
• the training requirements of services potentially coming into contact with people using NPS
The research will begin immediately upon contract start and a report with recommendations will be completed and submitted to Supporting People by December 2016.
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