More than 1,100 people in Hounslow who are affected by alcohol and drug misuse issues have taken steps to turn their lives around thanks to an innovative Council-backed support service.
The Hounslow Addiction Recovery Community (ARC) is a partnership between the Council and Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL), and Phoenix Futures.
It offers free support to any adult in Hounslow who wants help with alcohol or drug misuse issues.
Anyone who engages with ARC Hounslow is offered a full assessment and support based on their needs. This includes one-to-one sessions, medical interventions such as alcohol detox and group therapy.
As part of International Recovery Month (September), Hounslow Council and its partners are shining a spotlight on the work of ARC and its successes in helping local people with their addiction issues.
ARC Hounslow is part of a wider strategy that sees agencies working in partnership at a local level to break the drug supply chain, provide world-class treatment services and reduce the demand for recreational drugs.
Councils such as Hounslow were asked to develop drug and alcohol partnership boards and plans to help them meet the requirements of the government strategy.
Along with ARC, Hounslow Council and its partners have introduced a series of measures to tackle drug and alcohol misuse in the borough.
These include increasing the number of criminal justice workers in the borough to support people who are on probation or who are leaving prison, more support for recovery services and the introduction of an Alcohol Care Team at West Middlesex Hospital.
The results of these new measures have been significant.
- Between June 2022 and May 2023, 1,146 people received treatment from ARC Hounslow.
- A total of 61 per cent of this number were deemed to be making ‘substantial progress’ in addressing their misuse issues.
- 525 of those people being treated were new to the service.
- During the same period, the Alcohol Care Team has screened more than 3,300 people for alcohol issues and 147 have started treatment.
Hounslow Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Transformation, Councillor Samia Chaudhary, said: “It is extremely encouraging to see the positive impact our drug and alcohol support services are having on our community.
“The take-up we have had for these services illustrates how effective we can be when we work in partnership. The dedication and hard work of the staff involved have truly made a difference to the lives of those struggling with addiction.
“The cause of addiction issues are many and in Hounslow we believe that anyone who is struggling should get the help they need. This is why working together, we have created a service that is available to everyone yet treats each person as an individual, when it comes to overcoming the challenges they face.”
Cllr Chaudhary added: “The original call to action was to create world-class treatment services for our borough and judging from the number of people who are successfully engaging with us, it is clear we are on the right track.”
Hounslow ARC manager Taruna Rampersad said: “As the sector manager of ARC Hounslow, I am very proud to be part of a team with such dedicated and inspiring staff who persevered and worked diligently to ensure ARC Hounslow demonstrated service users’ journeys through the various pathways in the service.”
While CNWL Area Manager Jaya Karira paid tribute to the great work of the ARC team members. She said: “The effort put in by staff is invaluable in helping our service users on their journey to recovery, and they deserve recognition and appreciation for their contributions.
“Recovery Month serves as a reminder of the importance of addressing addiction and mental health issues and the role that support networks like ARC Hounslow play in this process. The team’s dedication and impact on the lives of service users are truly commendable.”
- For more information about the Hounslow Addiction Recovery Community, click here.
ARC case study
After years of heavy drinking, David was forced to confront his alcohol miles as his health began to deteriorate and the toll on his family life reached breaking point.
A five-week stay in hospital following his third relapse into drinking gave him the time to evaluate where he was and where he wanted to be.
During his hospital stay, David was approached by Hounslow’s Alcohol Care Team (ACT), part of the wider Addiction Recovery Community (ARC Hounslow).
And this is where things really started to change…for the better.
David isn’t our subject’s real name but his experiences and progress through the system are very real.
David’s recovery journey
This was my third relapse and it hit me for six.
I couldn’t walk, I felt dizzy when I moved, and was stuck in bed. I was hiding my drinking from my family and the house was not a nice place to be in.
After my first four days in hospital, I moved wards due to concerns about my kidneys and liver. Here I was approached by the Alcohol Care Team in West Middlesex Hospital, and they told me about the Recovery Day Programme at ARC Hounslow and how much it can help.
The ACT team kept visiting every couple of days and telling me more about the support I could get when I got discharged from the hospital.
I was reluctant at first to access any support, as I had a bad experience with a group programme I had attended before to help with my alcohol use.
The ACT team explained more about the programme to myself and my family and I agreed to give it a go to see what it is like.
“My family were massively behind me, and I could see how much it had affected them, and how excited they were for me to get better.”
In the hospital, I could only walk a few steps at a time, but over a few weeks I began to be able to take myself to the shower and they began to have confidence in me and I could build up a small routine.
Seeing their reaction gave me more confidence that I could get better. I agreed to start the recovery day programme as soon as I left the hospital because I was scared that going back into the same routine at home would mean I would relapse.
I made sure when I left for the hospital I got rid of all the alcohol in the house as I wanted this time to be different and a fresh start.
On the first day out of hospital, I was exhausted and couldn’t walk, so couldn’t attend the RDP. By the second day, I felt a lot better and began the RDP.
After the first couple of weeks, I fully found my confidence and became a part of the group. My family carried on taking me every day for the full 12 weeks and were so happy I had given it a proper go.
Now, I’m finishing week 12 of the course, still abstinent from alcohol, and it has made me think about how many things I was missing out on before, and how much I have got involved in now. I’m working on my physical health and mental health and thinking of the future.
I’ve learnt from the recovery day programme how important structure to my day is and will make sure I keep up a positive routine and make everyone proud.
Most importantly I know I never want to go back to drinking.
- For more information about Hounslow’s Addiction Recovery Community, click here.
https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/news/article/2963/groundbreaking_hounslow_alcohol_and_drug_support_service_is_transforming_lives
