Many people whose lives are in crisis face many problems at once, often to the point of paralysing their ability or motivation to make positive change in their lives. Yet the way in which support for people in crisis is structured overwhelmingly focuses on response to a single issue be it unemployment, offending, homelessness or drug abuse to name but a few examples.
Despite much talk of 'joined up working' there are major barriers to genuinely integrated support services even though the 'joined up' approach is ultimately far more effective. In particular, funding for any service which tries to tackle the whole range of a persons' problems has to come from a range of sources each with the remit of funding its own area of responsibility which makes it incredibly difficult to put together a truly multi disciplinary service.
DISC has responded to this issue by developing a number of multi-disciplinary services and initiatives:-
- Progress 2 Work - a JobCentre Plus funded initiative which tackles barriers to employment, both vocational and non vocational for recovering drug users and accesses them to jobs and training.
- Together Women - a partnership programme in Yorkshire for women offenders, which provides support in relation to housing, childcare health advice, substance misuse and offending.
- Darlington Accommodation and Support Service (DASS) - a DISC project which provides holistic support enabling recovering drug users to make the transition to independent living in permanent housing.