We were lucky to welcome newly-elected labour Redditch MP, Chris Bloore to our Harm Reduction drop-in last Thursday at Redditch Baptist Church to meet Lauren.
We were joined by Vicki Franks from Cranstoun, Carol Edwards from Housing First and Vikki Mason from Caring for Communities and People (CCP).
Initially a member of the CCP team reached out to Chris and made him aware of the Harm Reduction drop-in and invited him to come down for a visit. Chris spent nearly 2 hours with us last Thursday, asking about how the drop-in originated, what services we offer, what challenges Redditch faces and what obstacles we face in our line of support, and took the time to speak to each service present as well as some of the service users.
As a collective we identified lack of housing options as the number one issue, followed by the need for a hub for our service users to access during the week. Chris seems invested in making positive changes to address these challenges and we look forward to having him at the drop-in again in the future.
Our very own Lauren comfirms: “It was an absolute pleasure having Chris at the Harm Reduction drop-in last week. He took the time to chat with all agencies that were present as well as some of the service users. We discussed the challenges Redditch faces, in comparison to other areas of the County, and brainstormed short and long-term solutions to help benefit our service users. I look forward to seeing the impact Chris makes during his time in office!”
Our Harm Reduction team partners with homelessness, health providers, and other relevant agencies to engage people with services to address alcohol, substance misuse and any health-related issue associated with substance dependency.
The team can support any individual who needs support at whatever position they are in the homelessness cycle and work collaboratively to break down barriers and develop innovative and robust pathways to engage with our service users.
They adopt safer practices and reduce harm, including naloxone provision and needle and syringe exchange programmes and they will help anyone whether they are accommodated or not, we do not turn anybody away.
For more information on our Harm Reduction services and other drop-ins, please click here.
