The Bridge Programme
10 rooms have been specially adapted for a residential treatment service for homeless people with addictions. This programme is split into 3 phases, Preparation Phase – where service users prepare mentally and physically for detox, Actual Detox and Therapeutic Aftercare – where relapse prevention is the primary aim.
The Programme has been developed and agreed with Cardiff and Vale Local Health Trust and has been based on the Social Learning Theory Model, which focuses on the causes and consequence of substance misuse. Workers on the Unit will use motivational interviewing techniques to help Service Users think about their reasons for using substances and to make choices and take action on this basis.
The programme is split into three phases
1.)Preparation
2.)Detox
3.)Therapeutic Aftercare
Each phase of the Programme will involve a timetable which will include group therapy, diary group, complimentary therapies, art therapy, fitness session, one to one assessment and support, group activities and so on.
How it works
Funding
Funding for the program in most cases is by housing benefit and a small contribution from personal benefits. However, alternative funding arrangements can be negotiated.
The Service User
We can only accept Service Users on our Programme who are homeless and from the Cardiff area. The definition of homeless includes rough sleepers, those in B&Bs, those in hostels and those in insecure accommodation.
Referrals
Every person applying to the programme needs to complete a referral form. Ideally the Service User will complete this but someone else can complete it on the Service User’s behalf.
Assessment
After completing the referral form the Service User will be asked to attend a clinical assessment (undertaken by a CPN) interview – evaluating suitability.
Case Conference
Funding for the program in most cases is by housing benefit and a small contribution from personal benefits. However, alternative funding arrangements can be negotiated.
Detox Phase
Detoxification will take up to 10 days and will be monitored by a clinical team including a CPN, Consultant Psychiatrist and Specialist Support Workers.
Preparation Phase
The Preparation Stage is the first step towards detox and is a vital stage of the program. It is a chance to cut down substance use and where there is desire and appropriateness to eventually go onto detox. Continuous bio-medical and psychological assessment will take place during this stage.
Therapeutic Aftercare
Offers a range of options post detox according to assessed need and the Cycle of Change – including ultimately resettlement. The aftercare programme will run on 2 designated sites. One of these sites is a recently built unit made up of 5 self-contained flats – on the grounds of Ty Gobaith. The other is a property in the community leased by the Local Authority on behalf of Ty Gobaith.
“I am 31 and I am now a rehabilitated
ex-opiate dependent and ex-alcoholic.
Two years ago I was barely alive and had
no real quality of life to speak of. It took
two hospital admissions, one of which was
very serious and potentially life threatening
for me to realise how important it was for
me to re-evaluate my life and make the
changes in my life that I needed to make.
Thankfully around the same time a place
on the Bridge Programme was offered to
me, an opportunity that I jumped at. In a
way the Bridge Programme offered me
the lifeline I had been crying out for, which
I am extremely grateful for. The way the
programme is run is excellent and the
support they offer is second to none. You
obviously have to want to change for it to
work and I was long overdue to make that
change, so it has worked for me.
I now have my life back and contact
with my mother, all this I will never forget.
So thank you the Bridge Programme
for everything.”
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