We are delighted to announce the launch of a new and exciting benefits package for our workforce.

We know that the work our people do is challenging, complex and important. We exist to support individuals, families, and communities to make significant changes – that’s not an easy thing to do but it is a huge privilege to be part of.

Putting in place new conditions and benefits that support a happy, healthy, and impactful workforce will help us to continue to make a significant and positive difference. We don’t underestimate the importance of this and have introduced a new suite of terms and conditions that respond to the diverse and changing needs of our teams.

Earlier this year, we carried out an extensive consultation with our staff. We listened to their feedback, and it is reflected in our new offer. As well as gathering feedback from our people, we also undertook research and benchmarking work, in our sector and beyond, to ensure we pushed and challenged ourselves. This benchmarking is something that we will be doing every two years from now on. It means that our pay and reward offer should be sector leading and support us to attract and retain the very best people.

Some examples of the new benefits include:

• Annual leave of 30 days, from start of employment, increasing to 33 days over time.
• Sick leave of 6 months full pay, then 6 months half pay, from start of employment.
• An additional day’s leave for the following important life events: birthday, getting married, moving house, and child’s first day of school.
• Maternity leave (including shared maternity leave) of 8 weeks full pay, 8 weeks half pay, then statutory.
• Paternity leave of 3 weeks full pay, 1 week half pay.
• Other support we will be offering our staff includes leave for: IVF (both partners eligible), adoption (replicates maternity leave), gender transition, dependents, compassionate, miscarriage (both partners eligible) and domestic abuse.

Anna Whitton, Chief Executive Officer said: “We spent a great deal of time thinking about the diverse needs of our current and future workforce, the important times in people’s lives, and how we recognise the hard and important work that they do. These new benefits respond more effectively to the individual needs of our staff. We feel that this will not only help us to become more effective and productive, but it will also support our journey towards becoming a truly inclusive employer.”

Yasmin Batliwala, Chair said: “The Board of Trustees and I were extremely impressed with the forward-thinking pay and reward proposals put forward by the WDP senior management team. We were very happy to put our support behind this new suite of benefits and think that they will champion our ambitions to attract, retain, and develop a sector-leading workforce.”

Read more about the full range of benefits available – including health and wellbeing initiatives, financial perks and support, and recognition and development opportunities – in our Benefits Package area.

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Leading drug and alcohol charity WDP and literacy charity Shannon Trust are joining forces in an innovative partnership to help address low literacy rates in community substance misuse support services.

Shannon Trust works in prisons across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland to enable prisoners to read using its Turning Pages programme, a unique phonics-led approach to learning. Through one-to-one mentoring, prisoners who can read teach those who can’t.

This new collaborative partnership with WDP is Shannon Trust’ first community pilot to launch. Shannon Trust will be providing training to WDP staff, peer mentors and volunteers to enable them to provide this ground-breaking literacy programme across multiple services, to reach and help those who would benefit from supportive one-to-one sessions with a peer.

Yasmin Batliwala, Chair of WDP, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Shannon Trust and, especially to be the first of their community pilots to be launched. Support with reading will help users of our services toward a more inclusive experience of living in their communities. Literacy skills can lead to a greater participation in work, family life, and directly improve health. Developing literacy skills will give them the choice to feel part of an increasingly digital, social-media world, rather than be automatically excluded. These skills are a fundamental part of how we understand, communicate, and interpret the world around us and to this end, these skills, have the potential to increase the motivation of our service users in their recovery journey.”

Ian Merrill, CEO of Shannon Trust said: “We know that reading is a vital skill, and when people learn, it can make a huge difference to their lives. They’re able to complete the everyday tasks that many of us take for granted, such as managing bills or accessing the internet. It can boost their chances of finding employment, or they can take a more active role in their children’s education. And for those with drug and alcohol problems, these achievements can be important building blocks in recovery.”

“Working closely with WDP, we will look at how our reading programmes can be adapted to meet the needs of service users. We hope to train their staff, volunteers and peer mentors to better identify those who may require help in this area, and to deliver Shannon Trust reading sessions in tandem with existing support.”

About Shannon Trust

Within the prison system, 50% of people have a literacy level below that expected of a child leaving primary school, and around 20% of the total prison population read at a much lower level than this.

Shannon Trust has been working in prisons across England, Wales and Northern Ireland for over 20 years, delivering programmes which help thousands of prisoners improve their literacy levels.

The programme operates through one-to-one mentoring, with prisoners who can read teaching those who can’t, using an evidence-based phonics-led approach – Turning Pages. Sessions are around 20 minutes each, and learners work with mentors through Turning Pages guides at their own pace. 90% of learners go on to seek further educational courses after completing the programme, and 60% report increased confidence.

The charity funds its work through the sale of Turning Pages and public donations. More information can be found on www.shannontrust.org.uk.

Shannon Trust is a registered charity no. 1117249

For further information, please contact media@shannontrust.org.uk.

WDP welcomes the publication of the second part of Dame Carol Black’s independent review on drugs. As a third sector provider of recovery treatment and support services, we took part in the consultation and are supportive of the recommendations being outlined and feel there is a lot of potential for positive change.

We are grateful to see a strong recognition of the disinvestment in our sector over the past few years, as well as the recommendations for increased and protected funding. The acknowledgment of the complexity and challenging nature of recovery worker roles and the recommendations around workforce development and investment are also appreciated.

The recurring themes around the importance of holistic care, supporting individuals who use drugs with their health and wellbeing (mental and physical), housing needs, and opportunities for education, training and employment, are especially pleasing to see. It is also encouraging to read that the review includes input from and highlights the value of including people with lived experience in shaping the support available for those who need it.

As an additional next step, we would advocate for a similar independent review to look at alcohol or a formal recognition that many of the report’s findings around drug prevention, treatment and recovery issues also overlap with sector and public health concerns about alcohol use.

To read the full report please visit: Review of drugs: phase two report – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Volunteers’ Week takes place between 1-7 June every year and is an opportunity to recognise the fantastic contributions our volunteers make to WDP.

To celebrate Volunteers’ Week, our Recovery in Action team has organised an exciting week of online events for our volunteers and staff to attend.

From creative vase decorating and music concerts, to volunteer forums and ‘Meet our CEO’, there is an event to suit all interests.

All of the events are virtual and will be run on Zoom. Take a look at our Volunteers Week events page to find event details and information on how to sign up.

WDP is hugely grateful for the invaluable time and support our volunteers provide to our services. We wish all of our volunteers a happy Volunteers’ Week and we look forward to seeing you at our online events.

If you are interested in volunteering at WDP and would like to find out more, visit our Volunteering page.

We are delighted to announce that WDP has been successful in two bids to deliver substance misuse services to rough sleepers.

The new services will be delivered in the London Boroughs of Camden and Islington. Each service will operate an outreach model of psychosocial support and prescribing to help rough sleepers address their substance misuse issues and eventually enter structured treatment.

The services’ key focus is people’s safety, and our staff will be out in the community, working with rough sleepers wherever they feel comfortable and safe. In both boroughs, there will be specialist roles that will work with women and also around dual diagnosis, to help those experiencing complex mental health and substance misuse problems.

WDP’s Capital Card will also play a big role in helping people get the essential items they need and find their feet in the community.

Lisa Luhman, Commissioning Manger for Camden & Islington Public Health said: “Camden and Islington are excited about the development of the new rough sleeper services, and believe the services will achieve great outcomes for some of our most vulnerable residents.”

Yasmin Batliwala, Chair of WDP said: “Winning two new contracts to provide substance misuse services for rough sleepers in Camden and in Islington is a testament to the quality of our care. We will be able to reach more people in need of our services, especially rough sleepers who are particularly vulnerable. We look forward to welcoming new staff, and new hope into the WDP family.”

We are delighted to announce that following a successful tender process, WDP has begun providing a new mental health outreach service to young people (up to age 25) in Brent.

This new service will work alongside WDP’s ELEV8 young people’s substance misuse team. WDP also provides the local adult substance misuse service, New Beginnings, in partnership with Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL).

The new street-based mental health service will provide support to young people who are living or studying in the borough and will take a trauma-informed and person-centred approach.

This early intervention service forms part of the wider Violence and Vulnerability Programme in Brent and will focus on:

• Helping young people affected by mental health conditions (diagnosed or undiagnosed) to better understand and look after their mental health and wellbeing.
• Helping young people affected by mental health conditions enter structured treatment, such as supporting access to local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
• Reducing re-offending and improving the health and wellbeing of young people, carers, families and communities in the borough.
• Engaging with young people/cohorts currently unknown to statutory services.

If you live or study in Brent, are under 25 and would like to talk to someone about your own or another young person’s mental health concerns, please contact ELEV8 on 0300 303 4547 or brentyp@wdp.org.uk.

Leading drug and alcohol charity WDP has renewed its partnership with City Lit, one of the country’s top destinations for evening, weekend and daytime courses, for a third successive year. City Lit will be offering WDP service users access to an array of online and face-to-face courses across a wide range of subject areas, in exchange for their hard-won Capital Card points.

The Capital Card is an award-winning reward card scheme which empowers WDP’s service users and helps them on their recovery journey. They can earn points by engaging in drug and alcohol treatment and spend their points on positive activities and products in their local community at Spend Partners, such as cinemas, gyms or eateries.

Some of the fantastic feedback from service users who have had already had the opportunity to attend courses at City Lit includes:

• “After 18 months of hard personal work, being given something that I would not have done for myself made a big difference to my confidence.”
• “Learning a new skill and discovering something that I thought I could not do was magical; when you are working through really difficult/painful experiences to be reminded that you can learn new skills and succeed is a huge prize.”
• “It’s given me more confidence to be amongst other people, reason to get up in the morning and look forward to my day, it lifted my depression and has also given me a different perspective on life.”

Yasmin Batliwala, Chair of WDP, said: “We are delighted to be continuing our partnership with one of our first Spend Partners, City Lit. This collaboration will provide a vast range of opportunities for our service users to learn new skills, develop their interests or take up a new hobby. To be able to look ahead to the future and have these options is hugely beneficial and invaluable in supporting our service users in their recovery journey.”

Phil Chamberlain, Executive Director External Engagement at City Lit, said: “I am thrilled that we are continuing our partnership with WDP. Building on the success of our long-term partnership, we’re excited to offer WDP service users access to an array of online and face-to-face City Lit courses in exchange for their hard-won Capital Card points. Together we will be able to support WDP service users in their recovery journey by rebuilding confidence, helping to regain a wellbeing equilibrium or upskilling to increase employability. This is the latest offer in a long collaboration between our two organisations and we look forward to developing our partnership further in the future.”

For more information about the Capital Card®, visit www.capitalcard.org.uk.

About City Lit

City Lit is the country’s leading adult education college, famous for “Bringing people together to enrich lives through learning.” Since 1919, City Lit has welcomed thousands of Londoners every year, with well over a million people having benefitted from our unique offering. Londoners from all walks of life come together to try something new, learn a new skill or follow a passion. City Lit caters to a diverse group of adult learners – professionals, retirees, deaf students and learners with severe disabilities, ranging from 19 to those in their 90’s. City Lit offers a wide range of online and face-to-face courses in performing and visuals arts, languages, humanities and social sciences.

For more information, visit https://www.citylit.ac.uk/ or contact kim.snijders@citylit.ac.uk

We are delighted to announce that our partnership with Hermes, one of the UK’s largest parcel delivery companies, has been extended until the end of September. This partnership ensures that our most vulnerable Capital Card users continue to get access to essential items during the coronavirus pandemic through a home delivery service.

Service users place orders for essential items that they would usually ‘buy’ in their local WDP service’s Pop-Up Shops, such as toiletries and non-perishable items. Hermes then delivers these orders to the service user’s door within one week, as part of the Capital Card ‘Shop on Wheels’ initiative.

Below is some of the fantastic feedback we’ve received from service users who have benefited from these generous Hermes deliveries:

• “A huge thank you for a lovely parcel full of goodies, it has made my day.”
• “It is very important for me to know that there is somebody out there thinking about me as I have been shielding since March 2020. Thank you for the lovely parcels.”
• “I love receiving parcels full of goodies, the variety of items is wonderful and also the surprises.”
• “Thank you ever so much for helping both myself and my child to get through those difficult times.”

A huge thank you to Hermes for all the support that they have given our services users during this challenging time.

For more information about the award-winning Capital Card®, visit www.capitalcard.org.uk.

We are proud to be a part of the latest published research and guide from the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, Managing Drug and Alcohol Misuse at Work.

The report has an accompanying practical guide for employers and line managers on how best to manage drug and alcohol misuse in the workplace and how to proactively support their staff.

As WDP specialises in helping people with drug and alcohol problems, our in-house Innovation and Research Unit was uniquely positioned to review and contribute to this guide.

Yasmin Batliwala, Chair of WDP, said: “We are pleased to have taken part in this timely work published by the CIPD. As highlighted by their report, it is important for organisations to have a proactive and preventative approach to managing drug and alcohol misuse within their teams. This is especially vital during these challenging times, as this research indicates that alcohol consumption among workers has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Read the report here

Read the guide here

We are pleased to announce that our Redbridge substance misuse treatment service (known locally as R3) has been rated ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The CQC inspectors highlighted that staff “treated clients with compassion and kindness” and that the “service was well led, and the governance processes ensured that its procedures ran smoothly.”

The report also includes some excellent feedback from service users. The CQC inspectors reported that service users “gave overwhelmingly positive feedback about the service they received” and shared that “staff were caring, supportive and non-judgemental towards them.” Service users also praised WDP’s Capital Card® scheme, sharing that it was a “good initiative and that they enjoyed spending points on toiletries and on group service user meals in the community.”

Andrew Hardwick, Integrated Strategic Commissioner (Substance Misuse) for London Borough of Redbridge, said: “WDP were commissioned in Redbridge to embed an innovative, person centric treatment service in the local community that would offer a high standard of care and support to local residents and the community of Redbridge. We are delighted with the outcome from the recent Care Quality Commission inspection which underlines the progress that has been made locally in developing our specialist substance misuse treatment provision. This has been possible because of WDP’s flexible approach to delivery which adapts to the individual needs of each and every service user providing a truly person-centred treatment experience. This is clearly reflected in the outcomes we are seeing for individuals and indeed the service as a whole.”

Yasmin Batliwala, Chair of WDP, commented: “We are delighted with yet another excellent CQC report acknowledging the high quality of our services within Redbridge. It is a credit to the team for their hard work and commitment to our service users, as it recognises the importance we place on providing a service which is tailored to the needs of each individual who comes to us for support. Working closely with our amazing Commissioners is a key feature of our success and together we are able to deliver so much more. It is a partnership we value immensely and hope to continue to build on. We remain grateful to the users of our service for having faith in us to assist them in improving their lives.”

The areas of good practice that the CQC was particularly impressed by were:

• Staff provided a range of care and treatment interventions suitable for the client group and consistent with national guidance about best practice.
• The service treated clients with compassion and kindness. They understood the individual needs of clients and supported clients to understand and manage their care and treatment.
• Clients were involved in the service in a number of ways, including at the monthly service user forum, and encouraged to leave feedback on how the service could be improved.
• Staff welcomed their clients’ families into the service and offered support to them, when appropriate.

We are looking forward to using the findings of the report to continue to improve our services. To access the full CQC inspection report, please click here.

If you live in Redbridge and would like to talk to someone about your or a loved one’s drug or alcohol use, please contact us on 0300 303 4612 or info.r3@wdp.org.uk