A significant proportion of drug users are likely to benefit from supported accommodation and yet many supported housing providers routinely exclude drug users from their schemes. Similarly, a high proportion are likely to need floating support on referral to independent housing or if problems arise later. When considering the role that supported housing and floating support might play in meeting the needs of drug users, It is important to look at the potential offered by all existing services in your area, rather than just those specifically set up for drug users.
As the majority of supported housing is funded by Supporting People funds, it is usually possible to get most of the details about local supported housing from that source. However, you should also ask the substance misuse commissioners and strategic leads (including the DAT and DIP manager) whether they are separately funding any services.
Supporting People commissioners may be willing to provide a list of all the supported housing in the local authority area, together with details of the type of accommodation, level of support provided and whether or not they are currently willing to take drug users. Alternatively you should be able to find details of the services in your area on http://www.spdirectory.org.uk.
For a picture of what Supporting People funded services are already taking people with problematic drug use you can analyse the Client Record Form data (see description of this dataset in the Needs assessment section. By isolating all of the data records for people for whom drug misuse is recorded as a need, you can identify which providers are already taking people in this category, the types of services they are being accepted into, what local connection the individuals have, what type of agency referred them to the service, and where they lived before.
Supported housing providers with only low levels of staffing and support can be very nervous about taking current or former drug users because of the inexperience of their staff and/or because of fear of management problems if individuals relapse to more chaotic/active drug use. You may be able to encourage them to take more risks if you can provide training for their staff, provide specialist staff input where required and help to find alternative accommodation for those whose needs are no longer compatible with the service. You need to consider however, whether this will result in you placing people who are seeking to abstain from or reduce their drug use, alongside active users and the impact this could have on treatment outcomes.
Many Supporting People commissioners are now reviewing their services and looking at the scope to remodel existing services to cater for a higher level of needs. It is important to ensure that the needs of drug users engaged in treatment are considered during this process. For some specialist needs which it would be uneconomic to provide for locally, or for service users who need to leave your local area, it may be possible to refer to and/or purchase places within services in other local authority areas. Details of Supporting People funded services in other areas can be found on http://www.spdirectory.org.uk or through discussions with the Supporting People manager and DAT manager for the area. Although Supporting People funded services that provide only temporary support should not restrict access to those with a local connection, this is reported to be common in practice. Being willing to enter into a reciprocal arrangement that benefits both authorities is likely to offer the most chance of long term success.