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In this month's edition...
Rethink supported housing
Clinks is one of eleven organisations that submitted an open letter in the Guardian asking the next government to rethink plans to change how supported housing works. The letter urges the government to rethink the reforms and ensure supported housing can continue to provide people, including those who have had contact with the criminal justice system, with a safe place to live. Read the letter here
Local support for complex needs
Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM), a coalition of Clinks, Homeless Link and Mind, is inviting applications for free support to improve local services for people with multiple and complex needs. The deadline is 31st July, and there are free information events taking place around the country from 28th June. If your area has started to build a cross-sector partnership, is able to self-fund an intervention and is ready to try a new approach to working with multiple and complex needs, MEAM would like to hear from you. Find out more here
Autism support
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism (APPGA) is in the process of conducting an inquiry into how well the special educational needs and disability (SEND) system is working for children and young people on the autism spectrum. If you are a parent or carer of a young person in England under the age of 25, the APPGA wants to know things like whether your child is in the right school or college, how long they had to wait for support, and what you have done if you disagreed with what support was offered. Please share this with any parents or family members of young people with autism you are working with. Find out more here
Health and Wellbeing Alliance
The Department of Health, NHS England and Public Health England have launched their new VCSE Health and Wellbeing Alliance. The Alliance aims to act as a key link between the voluntary sector and the national health system partners, to bring the voice of the sector into national policy making. Clinks and Nacro have been accepted as members of the Alliance for 2017/18 to represent and address the health needs of people in the criminal justice system. Clinks will continue to use this funding to provide you with up-to-date information on the latest developments in health in the justice system, and ensure our members’ voices are heard. If you work in this area or would like to hear more about the Alliance please contact hazel.alcraft@clinks.org
Supporting charity leaders
The King’s Fund, Comic Relief, and the Big Lottery Fund have now opened the application process for Cascading Leadership, a support programme enabling charity leaders to help each other through sharing expertise and developing skills. Cascading Leadership involves charity leaders providing support to their less-experienced peers, helped by training and coaching from The King’s Fund. This approach aims to develop the skills of both those providing and receiving the support - charity leaders are enabled to share their extensive expertise, and less-experienced organisations receive support from another charity leader who fully understands the sector’s challenges and potential. The programme is free and the deadline for expressions of interest is 20th July. Find out more here
Mental health
Cymorth Cymru are holding 'Together For Mental Health' [12th July, Cardiff, from £109] an event reviewing the contribution that Supporting People can make to mental health, in the context of the Welsh Government strategy. It brings together service users, providers and academics and will explore services’ engagement with Together with Mental Health, the Welsh Government’s strategy for promoting better mental wellbeing and preventing mental health problems. Themes and workshops will include homelessness and mental health, therapeutic approaches, Borderline Personality Disorder, and solutions to mental health stigma. The event will include an opportunity to hear from people who have used mental health services in the past about what works.
Find out more and book here
Citywide wellbeing
Community Access Support Service are arranging a Network Event [13th July, Bristol, free] to enable voluntary, community, equalities and faith groups to influence a new citywide and strategic approach to mental health and wellbeing to be developed for Bristol. Led by Bristol City Council Public Health on behalf of the Bristol Health & Wellbeing Board, this is an opportunity for voluntary, community, equalities and faith groups to discuss, input and set the agenda to ensure this emerging future approach is effective and meets local needs. Find out more and book here
Prisoners and families affected by bereavement
Clinks is co-hosting a roundtable with Adfam [8th August, London] to identify and discuss key issues around supporting prisoners and family members affected by bereavement. People affected by bereavement in prison may experience ‘disenfranchised grief’, being unable to grieve for their losses in socially acceptable ways. This event will be an opportunity to discuss any work your organisation is currently doing to support people affected by bereavement; identify your support needs in this area and how these might be met, and influence Clinks’ thinking on bereavement. You will also here from one of Adfam’s peer support volunteers about the work they do supporting people who are bereaved through alcohol or drugs. Find out more and book here
Free tickets to NHS Expo
NHS England is holding its annual Health and Care Innovation Expo [11th-12th September, Manchester, free] to inspire patient-centred innovation and transformation across England’s health and social care services. Bringing together leaders from the NHS, local authorities and beyond, Expo 2017 will focus on the actions we can now all take to deliver the vision of the NHS Five Year Forward View, across all parts of our health and social care services. Voluntary sector organisations can book free tickets by quoting the code EXPO17. Find out more and book here.
Navigating the health landscape in England
This newly updated Clinks resource provides an overview of the health commissioning landscape, explaining the roles of organisations with direct commissioning responsibilities as well as key organisations in a commissioning support role. It covers the commissioning arrangements in secure settings, as well as for people with convictions in the community, and highlights where voluntary sector organisations working with people in the criminal justice system and their service users can influence health and care provision. Find out more here
Rights and complaints procedures for health and care services
This newly updated Clinks resource provides guidance on what to do if a person you are working with has not received the standard of health or social care to which they are entitled, for voluntary sector organisations working with people in the criminal justice system. Newly updated to include information on the Care Act (2014) and how to challenge if a person’s social care needs are not being met. Find out more here
Homelessness and health
The National Housing Federation and other partners have published 'Homeless and health for disadvantaged groups’, a report exploring the specific issues linked to homelessness that affect particular disadvantaged groups, including a section by Clinks on people in the criminal justice system. It makes several recommendations, including that the Ministry Of Justice develops a cross-departmental housing strategy. Find out more and read the report here
Trauma care for women
University of the West of England has published 'An investigation into the feasibility of psychological interventions for managing the symptoms of trauma and insomnia for women in prison'. Female prison populations, when compared to a general population, appear to contain a higher prevalence of trauma histories with the majority of women in prison having experienced sexual or physical violence in childhood or during their adult lives. The findings of the investigation indicate that prison is an unhelpful environment for women who have trauma histories. The study’s ultimate recommendation proposes the transformation of the prison into a specialised trauma-focused hospital to manage women detained within the criminal justice system who exhibit symptoms of trauma and insomnia. Read the report here
Improving the NHS
NHS England has published 'Next steps on the NHS Five Year Forward View'. The publication reviews the progress made since the launch of the NHS Five Year Forward View in October 2014 and sets out a series of practical and realistic steps to deliver a better, more joined-up and more responsive NHS in England. The report highlights the increase in liaison and diversion services, and reduced use of police cells as a place of safety for people with mental health problems, as examples of the progress which has been made. It covers a broad range of areas including urgent and emergency care; primary care; cancer; mental health; integrating care locally; workforce; and technology and innovation. Read the report here
Mental health priorities for the next Parliament
The Centre for Mental Health have set out a manifesto calling for the new government to make mental health a priority. It makes five key recommendations including that prisons and immigration removal centres (IRCs) need a profound culture shift to become psychologically informed environments; and that the Government should offer people with mental health problems support without sanctions when they want help to get into work. Find out more here
Supporting health innovations
NHS England is seeking applications to its Innovation Accelerator. It is seeking local, national and international innovations addressing mental health, urgent and emergency care, or primary care. The programme supports participants to take their innovations to a larger number of patients at a greater pace. The programme includes a bursary of up to £50k. Find out more here
Recovery and rehabilitation
Russell Webster summarises a paper addressing substance misuse and offending behaviour together from the team behind the Breaking Free programme. He discusses the paper's suggestion that using digital technologies to deliver interventions can provide opportunities for joined-up care by making interventions available across both prison and community settings, following people on their journey through the criminal justice system. Read the blog here
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About Clinks Offender Health Bulletin
This regular bulletin provides Clinks members with the latest news for voluntary sector organisations involved in the health and care of offenders. It currently has 3,366 subscribers.
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