More vulnerable adults supported through ‘Changing Futures’ programme

The Changing Futures programme - a joint initiative with The National Lottery Community Fund – the largest funder of community activity in the UK - will provide almost £55 million to 15 local areas across England over the next three years, part of a wider £64 million programme.

This will provide essential support and treatment for vulnerable adults facing a combination of homelessness, substance misuse, poor mental health, domestic abuse, or contact with the criminal justice system.

The Programme will help some of the most vulnerable in society get the support they need, by funding local partnerships to better co-ordinate public and voluntary services and provide joined up support. Lessons learned from Changing Futures will inform national policy.

Some examples of the work Changing Futures will fund include: Helping get rough sleepers registered with a GP to ensure they can access healthcare; outreach teams to help sex workers build a new life; skills and training to help disadvantaged adults gain employment; and new support pathways to help people with learning difficulties access local services.

Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing, Eddie Hughes said:

Our ground-breaking programme with the National Lottery Community Fund will help the most vulnerable in our society, giving them the tools they need to turn their lives around.

By providing specialist, joined up support we can create long-lasting change, helping these people reach their full potential and build a brighter future.

Many of the vulnerable adults who will be supported through the programme also experience physical ill-health and disability, entrenched disadvantage and trauma.

They often also experience difficulties in getting the coordinated support from local services that they need, which can lead to worsening problems such as increased reoffending and greater risk of rough sleeping and ill-health.

Local areas will take a ‘person-centred’ and ‘trauma-informed’ approach to tailor support to individuals and their needs. Changing Futures will transform how services operate by linking up support across areas such as health, employment, and drug misuse. This will make sure support services suit the needs of each individual, and benefit from the staff who have first-hand experience of issues such as homelessness or drug misuse.

The 15 areas across England that will receive funding under the programme are: Essex, Westminster, Sussex, Surrey, Bristol, Plymouth, Nottingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Hull, Sheffield, Leicester, Northumbria (Northumberland, Newcastle, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and Sunderland), South Tees (Middlesbrough, and Redcar and Cleveland), Lancashire (Blackpool, Lancashire, and Blackburn with Darwen) and Greater Manchester.

Blondel Cluff CBE, Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund, said:

The National Lottery-funded Fulfilling Lives programme demonstrated clearly how vulnerable people facing multiple disadvantage can play an active role in shaping the support services they rely upon, positively impacting their own lives and those of the local communities of which they are a part.

We are delighted to align and collaborate with Government on this important, shared objective through this new jointly-funded programme, that will support some of the most vulnerable members of our society to use their voices to help design and deliver the services they need, so that they and their communities can thrive together.

The 15 areas will offer tailored support for each individual with the involvement of support workers with lived experience of issues such as rough sleeping and substance abuse. Examples of the work this will fund at a local level include:

• Bristol: In Bristol, funding will be used to set up a new multi-disciplinary team providing specialist support to adults experiencing multiple problems. Support services will receive advice from those with lived experiences of issues such as homelessness or substance abuse to help them build skills for future employment.

• Stoke on Trent: In Stoke, a Homeless Health Hub will be established to register homeless people with a GP so they can access treatment to support their needs. A new Workforce Centre for Excellence will also be set up to help train vulnerable adults with skills to help them gain employment.

• Hull: In Hull, a team of navigators will work with sex workers and those with substance misuse problems. A specialist brain-injury pathway will be created to help vulnerable people with learning disabilities to better access services in the area.

A number of areas who have been selected for the Changing Futures programme have also previously received funding from the Fulfilling Lives programme - a £112 million programme funded by The National Lottery Community Fund that focuses on improving support for vulnerable people.

The Changing Futures programme will benefit from these areas’ existing experience and learning, and this will be shared with local area partnerships who are earlier in their development.

Further information

About The National Lottery Community Fund:

The National Lottery Community Fund are the largest funder of community activity in the UK – we’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. National Lottery players raise £36 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since June 2004, we have made over 200,000 grants and awarded over £9 billion to projects that have benefited millions of people.

We are passionate about funding great ideas that matter to communities and make a difference to people’s lives. At the heart of everything we do is the belief that when people are in the lead, communities thrive. Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, our funding is open to everyone. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.