With an audience of public and other third sector services, alongside local commissioners and service leaders, staff from the IPS, Rehab and Community team in Darlington explored the highlights and learning of the last nine months.
Presentations from With You, and the Darlington Access Team (Assertive Community, Connection, Engagement & Support Service), highlighted the different ways people can come into contact with Recovery services, and the concerning regional mortality rates demonstrating the essential need for STRIDE in the town.
“Alongside With You and the Access Team, we’ve developed a brilliant partnership. Watching how quickly it’s grown over the last 12 months has been astounding“
Dot Smith, Recovery Connections CEO
However, engagement with the partnership has also been reassuringly high, with close to 90 people on average supported by Recovery Connections in 2023, and more than 130 in the first half of January alone. With the Recovery Connections run Rehab soon to open too, plus the Access Team’s new “Hi-Hi” van (High Impact on Health Inequalities) reaching out into targeted communities, the range of information and services available in the town is set to increase even further.
Plus, when you consider the micro-elimination of Hepatitis-C achieved by With You, during 2023, and the growth of their Young Person’s service, the developments made within the combined services, in a relatively short time, becomes even more impressive.
A wonderful example of how effective the services have been comes in the form of Darlington Recovery Coach, Kelly, who reflected on her time working with both With You, before working with – and then for – Recovery Connections.
Also sharing the experience of recovery on the day was a member of the the Darlington IPS Team. Again, this was story of someone who could talk about working with IPS, before gaining employment as part of the team, before IPS Senior Lead, Lynsey Todd, focused on the opportunities for IPS in 2024.
During the afternoon, Darlington Community Lead Michelle Burns, and Harm Min Coach Shawn Birch, both ran mini-workshops with an introduction to Recovery Ally Training, and Naloxone use, respectively.
The final presentation of a productive day for improving collaboration and information sharing across Darlington came from Service Lead, Tracy Dixon, Regional Manager Jennifer Bryson, and CEO Dot Smith.
Reflecting on the first year of Recovery Connections in Darlington, Dot said: “Alongside With You and the Access Team, we’ve developed a brilliant partnership. Watching how quickly it’s grown over the last 12 months has been astounding. We work differently, not as a system, but as a community. And within this partnership, the peer-led approach has proven again to be successful.”
For Recovery Support in Darlington, the number to call is 01325 809810. You can also visit the STRIDE Partnership website, here.
