JULY 2011 - Stoke-on-Trent City Council

More documents

Recommendations

Info

<strong>JULY</strong> <strong>2011</strong> Our City 19Open day sheds spotlight onAlcohol Service launchMEMBERS ofthe publicandprofessionals attendedan informative openday which promoted anew integratedcommunity alcoholservice.The new service – whichis funded by the Safer CityPartnership – bringstogether the work ofalcohol support agenciesincluding Adsis and NorthStaffordshire CombinedHealthcare Trust.It provides seamlesssupport for people referredfor support for alcoholmisuse.IntegratedThe launch comes afterthe partnership significantlyexpanded its alcoholtreatment services last yearand secured a new centralbase in Havelock Place,Shelton.Suzie Kelly, Safer CityPartnership AlcoholProgramme Lead said “Theopen day highlighted howthe new, co-ordinatedservice operates and how itworks with other supportservices.“It also demonstrated thekind of training and carethat is provided. From aprofessional point of view itwas a useful networkingevent and showed agencieshow they could interlinkwith the service.“From a member of thepublic perspective itexplained the variety ofsupport on offer and howpeople can access it.”Also being demonstratedwas a new alcohol harmAbove, visitor StevenSmith receives advicefrom an Adsis expert.Right, Safer CityPartnership AlcoholProgramme Lead SuzieKelly with one of thenew toolkits.reduction toolkit.It is available toprofessionals and providesservice information,statistics and resourcesincluding a unit measure,screening tools and posters.● The Safer CityPartnership funds a rangeof services to supportpeople wishing to reducetheir alcohol intake orbecome abstinent. Toaccess any of the servicesmentioned, please contactAdsis on 01782 271096.Detox programme gives Julie her life backAS a 16-year-old, Julie started drinkingbecause she lacked confidence and feltalcohol was just the boost she needed.That crucial teenage decision 30 yearsago, was something that almost went on todestroy her life. Over the next three decadesshe used alcohol as a coping mechanismduring stressful situations and found herselfturning to the bottle more and more.By the start of 2010 the 46-year-old mumwas at her wits end. She had lost her drivinglicence, was heavily dependent on alcoholand her relationship with her partner andchildren had become confused.Then last April, she was offered a homedetoxification by community nurses. Theirhelpful, re-assuring and understandingapproach got her life back on track.Unfortunately, it did not last. Just beforeChristmas she attended a party and thoughtshe was strong enough to have a “social”drink. The first drink quickly led to another,then another and soon she was drinking asmuch as before.Julie said:“I really thought I could cope. Ithought I had cracked it and had had nocravings of alcohol since the detoxification.“But I soon found myself dependent onalcohol again. I had to have a lot of time offwork and it was affecting the familyfinancially. I knew I needed help again.”Julie attended a drop-in session at Adsis,was referred to the community nurses andwas offered a second home detoxification.She said:“I felt ashamed and worriedabout what people would think of me. Butthe nurses put me at ease. From day one ofthe detoxification the nurses were so kindand understanding. I can’t stress how muchthey helped me.“The first couple of days were scary butthey visited me twice a day and were alwaysat the end of a phone to support me withany problems. The nurses also offeredsupport to my family with any concerns theyhad. Their care was second to none.”Following the detoxification Julie wasprescribed anti-craving drugs and nowattends Adsis groups for relapse prevention.A month after the detoxification Julie ishappy that life is good again. Herrelationship with her partner and children isback to normal and she is back at work,easing their financial situation.She said:“It’s hard to believe that onlyweeks ago I was an alcohol-dependentemotional wreck. I can’t thank the nursesenough for giving me and my family ourlives back. I would recommend a homedetoxification to anyone.”Funding securedfor more popularRespect weeksFUNDING for Respect Weeks and Daysof Action in neighbourhoods has beensecured by the Safer City Partnershipfor the rest of the year.So far events have been held in thePortland Street and the Elder Roadareas of Cobridge.Residents identified environmentalissues such as litter and fly tippingproblems.As a result, skips were provided onthe estates so residents could disposeof their bulky waste – and over 30tonnes were collected over the threedays.In addition, overhanging trees werecut back, grassed areas trimmed andtrip rails repaired. All the work wasoverseen by the council’sEnvironmental Services Team.Staffordshire Police and StaffordshireFire and Rescue Service were on hand tooffer crime prevention and fire riskadvice and Street Pastors engaged withresidents and provided support andadvice.Meanwhile, following the complaints,the Environmental Crime Unit is alsoactively pursuing lines of enquiry inorder to prosecute offenders forfly-tipping.Bill James, Respect Programme Leadfor the Safer City Partnership, said:“Byworking in partnership on thosematters that are important tocommunities we are determined tomake a difference to the quality of lifefor residents, businesses and visitors tothe city.”Now more initiatives will be held incommunities and on estates throughthe year as part of an ongoing schedule.Residents ask forcold calling zoneTHE latest in a series of highly-successful NoCold Calling Zones has been launchedfollowing a number of doorstep crimes.Lord Mayor Councillor Terry Followsofficially launched the new zone, whichcovers two sheltered housing schemes –Doris Robinson Court and Sandon Court,Meir, as well as adjacent Viscount Walk andDentdale Close.It was set up after a consultation withresidents came back with a 100 per centapproval rating, due to a spate of doorstepcrime.Councillor Gwen Hassall, Cabinet Memberfor Housing and Neighbourhoods said:“Doorstep crime is a serious issue that isnow being addressed by the number of NoCold Calling Zones we have across the city.“We work closely with the police so weare aware of when incidents are reportedand we are then in a position to dosomething about them. In this case, all theresidents we spoke to were in favour ofsetting up a No Cold Calling Zone so we’reanswering their concerns.”
20 Our City <strong>JULY</strong> <strong>2011</strong>MONEYmattersContactsfor helpand debtadviceFOR more informationabout managingfinances or dealing withdebt log ontostoke.gov.ukOther useful contactsinclude:National Debtlinewww.nationaldebtline.co.uk 0808 808 4000 –free independent advice.Payplanwww.payplan.com0800 716239 – for debtcalculating, debtsolutions and budgeting.Shelterwww.shelter.org.uk0808 8004444 – housingadvice, including rentand mortgage arrearsrepossessions andeviction.Turn 2 Uswww.turn2us.or.uk0808 802 2000 – offersbenefits advice anddetails of grant-givingcharities.Financial ServicesAuthoritywww.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk – interactivetools for budgeting andborrowing, informationand leaflets.Supportavailableon housingHELP is available forpeople who need adviceand support abouthousing issues.The city council’sHousing Solutions Serviceteam can answer queriesin relation to a range ofissues from mortgageproblems to debt orarrears.The service worksclosely with the CitizensAdvice Bureau,Staffordshire Credit Unionand colleagues across theWest Midlands to helppeople stay in theircurrent home despitefinancial problems.For more informationcontact the service on01782 233696 or emailhousing.advice@stoke.gov.ukTraining prepares partners to fightillegal lending racketsSPECIALIST training has beentaking place as the city council andpartner agencies in <strong>Stoke</strong>-on-Trenttarget loan sharks.Up to eight awareness sessions on illegalmoney lending will have been staged by the endof August for more than 100 people.Frontline council employees from servicesincluding revenue and benefits, housing andsocial care have all taken part.Third sector partner organisations includingGingerbread, ARCH and Rethink also joined inas well as representatives from housingLOAN shark victims across<strong>Stoke</strong>-on-Trent are being remindedthey do not have to suffer in silence –specialist investigators working inpartnership with the city council canhelp.The England Illegal Money LendingTeam is based in Birmingham, but,working in partnership with localTrading Standards, is on hand to dealwith any complaints and casesreported by people in the city.The team works alongside TradingStandards Officers at the council andsupports other agencies like housingassociations, credit unions,associations, Staffordshire Police andStaffordshire Fire and Rescue Service.The training, delivered by the BirminghambasedIllegal Money Lending Team, wasdesigned to help those taking part to better spotthe symptoms of illegal money lending andsignpost victims to support services.Designed to help everyoneThe idea for the sessions came from the city’sFinancial Inclusion Group and were organisedby the city council’s Executive Support ManagerAnnette Lees. She said: “The two-hour sessionswere designed to help everyone taking part spotStaffordshire Police, the CitizensAdvice Bureau and other debt adviceservices to tackle illegal lendingactivity.Tony Quigley, Head of the EnglandIllegal Money Lending Team, said:“People turn in desperation to loansharks. Quite often loan sharks startout friendly but their behaviourchanges if a payment is missed.“There’s mostly little or no paperwork involved, they refuse to tell theborrower the interest rate, how muchthey owe or how long they’ll bepaying back.“They even take items likepassports or bank cards as security.“We’ve seen cases where theannual percentage rate (APR )rose ashigh as 131,000 per cent.“Sometimes the lenders resort toextreme methods to reclaim theseillegal debts, such as violence orblackmail.“Remember debts are illegal andnot enforceable through the courts.”The Illegal Money Lending Teamsinvestigate and prosecute illegallending and any related activity,which can include threateningbehaviour, violence, intimidation,drug offences, kidnap and even rape.ExecutiveSupport ManagerAnnette Lees withposters which warnthe public not to getbitten by a loanshark.the signs when speaking to customers andclients so they could then offer them supportand signpost them to investigators.“It was by invitation only but still massivelyover subscribed so we organised an extra sessionfor August.“In these tough times, the vulnerable are moreat risk from loan sharks than ever before so itsvital we do all we can to prevent them fromfalling into the clutches of sometimes dangerouspeople.“This training means another 100 peopleinvolved in frontline services now have theknowledge to intervene and offer help.”Special investigators can bite back at loan sharksThe teams are making a difference.Latest national figures show theyhave helped 16,000 victims andprosecuted at least 190 people.Those cases have resulted in jailsentences totalling 107 years.● A 24-hour a day, seven day aweek confidential hotline has beenset up so people can report illegallending. You can speak to a trainedinvestigator by calling 0300 5552222. You can also text ‘loan shark’plus your message to 60003 oremail reportaloanshark@stoploansharks.gov.uk
Page 4 and 5: 4 Our City JULY <s
Page 10 and 11: 10 Our City JULY <
Page 12 and 13: 12 Our City JULY <
Page 14 and 15: TLC Responder Paul Gallagher is one
Page 16 and 17: JULY 2011<
Page 20 and 21: GOOD NEWS FOR THE ’MITCH’ AND B
Page 22 and 23: JULY 2011<

JULY 2011 - Stoke-on-Trent City Council

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?