Recovering substance misusers living at Heathfield House, Leicester have enjoyed a visit from the Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicestershire, Sir Clive Loader, where they got an opportunity to share their experiences and ask him questions about the issues that they are facing.
Heathfield House, which is run by leading housing and care organisation, Midland Heart, provides temporary accommodation for single people aged 18 and above who are recovering from substance misuse.
The visit was part of Sir Clive’s on-going work to identify more opportunities for people who are willing to turn their lives around, such as those in Heathfield House.
Sir Clive said: “I strongly believe that individuals who want to ‘go straight’ and stop the cycle of crime often associated with substance misuse should be given a chance, and I was keen to meet those currently striving to overcome their problems and hear what they think about the challenges they face.
“Many of the people who reside at Heathfield House have had turbulent lives and I find it truly admirable that they can turn their lives around after going through so much.
“It was also an excellent opportunity to meet the staff of Heathfield House who I know are working extremely hard to reduce re-offending. It’s really valuable to have both sides of the story when I’m looking at the most effective ways to commission services to tackle such issues in the future.
Francisco Barros, Customer at Heathfield House said: "It was good to meet him and it was interesting to see what everyone had to say."
Customers at the service have access to on going advice and support which includes training in job search, benefit claims, and life skills in order to promote independent living
Minesh Patel, Team Leader at Heathfield House said: "The visit went really well, the group talked about lots of different issues and the commissioner talked about his role and the challenges police are facing. He had a good awareness of the issues that our customers in particular face.”
The customers and Commissioner were joined by members of external agencies including Probation Officers and Drug Treatment workers on the day, and shared their views over a buffet lunch.
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Notes to Editors:
- Midland Heart is one of the top ten housing and care organisations based in the UK; we transform lives and communities through housing, care and more.
- Our work involves; supporting those who need help to live independently, assisting in regenerating communities and helping an individual to discover their own abilities just as much as it involves providing and maintaining homes for more than 70,000 people with maximum customer involvement.
- We own and manage more than 32,000 homes and invest in excess of £100 million each year in our neighbourhoods - finding innovative solutions to improve and engage communities and individuals and through the provision of employment and training, learning and leisure, social enterprise and well-being.
- For more information visit: www.midlandheart.org.uk
For further information about Midland Heart contact:
Natalie Hannam, Midland Heart: 0845 850 1020 ext 6323
Email: natalie.hannam@midlandheart.org.uk
Posted on Monday 9th May 2016