What we do
Orchards Community Support provides housing and support services to enable people to lead contented and fulfilled lives, free from all forms of substance dependency. Our vision is to support people to remain abstinent, realise their full potential and live in their own homes.
We provide good quality housing combined with individual support to men and women whose lives have been directly affected by alcohol or substance misuse.
The service also provides personal support to gain access to education, volunteering and employment opportunities to people who are in recovery from substance misuse issues.
- An Accredited British Association of Counsellors and Phycologists (BACP) counsellor is available 24 hours a day through our on-call system.
- Fully qualified counsellor and art therapist.
- EMDR Trauma Therapist.
- A volunteer ‘recovery champion’ is on site daily.
- There are a further two support workers who provide client’s support through house meetings and one-to-ones.
- One of the Project Managers is also a qualified Bookkeeper AATQB and provides support with financial issues and benefits across the service.
- Mindfulness/Theta Healing Therapist
- Line management Supervision for staff is provided by an Accredited Supervisor who is a member of the National Counsellors Society (NCS) and ensures the team are working safely and ethically.
Care planning is carried out in the form of the ‘Recovery Star’ model. The ‘Recovery Star’ model of care planning is person-centred and enables the client to choose what areas of their life they feel they would like to work on:
The ‘Recovery Star’ captures ten domains:
• Managing Mental Health
• Physical Health & Self-Care
• Living Skills
• Social Networks
• Work
• Relationships
• Addictive Behaviour
• Responsibilities
• Identity & Self Esteem
• Trust & Hope
Identified domains are then broken down into a specific SMART care plan.
The Recovery Star is an evidence based outcomes measurement tool. It identifies and measures up to ten core areas of life, supporting a holistic, whole person approach to mental health and wellbeing. This enables individuals to see the progress that they have made, as well as allowing the service to demonstrate the lasting impact that our services are able to provide. Examples included;
- Helping people back to work, by working collaboratively with local voluntary agencies to help gain work experience.
- Helping people to move on to independent living.
- Supporting individuals with their anxieties in order to live a more fulfilling life and reduce reliance on medication (working closely and by following the advice of the G.P).
- Providing interventions when someone relapses.
- Working within a multi-agency approach to re-unite families
- Financial advice from our qualified accountant AAQTB (opening bank accounts/improving credit ratings/debt consolidation process)
There is a daily presence of staff at the house and the 24 hour on call system is also available. Formal one-to-one sessions are held once a week. The resident clients have a weekly budget allowance and are given the responsibility to produce a shopping list for the house (i.e. tea, coffee, toilet roll, cleaning products etc.), a staff member will then accompany them to the supermarket. Clients are encouraged to cook meals and eat together at early evening meal times.