(Last update: April 12 2010)

St Vincent’s, a route out of misery into sunshine.

DOWNLOAD: Brochure for new residents

DOWNLOAD: Potential residents’ application form

Whom will we take?

St Vincent’s accepts people who can meet a number of the entry criteria for the project. Generally they must:

• be wanting to make life changes
• be free of drugs and alcohol for 28 days before entry
• have no history of arson or match play
• be over 21.

We will take some risks in accepting people, otherwise some people would never have a chance to demonstrate their readiness for change. St Vincent’s takes people on licence, on Home Detention Curfew, on DTTOs and who are MAPPA. We will work with long-term offenders as they prepare to move from prison, offering week-end and short visits to facilitate the transition process.

We assess people carefully, but have some basic grounds on which we will reject people, these include arson or match-play; sexual offences; violence which is racially motivated, or domestic violence. Residents will only be accommodated without their partners and children. St Vincent’s takes people with dual diagnosis, learning difficulties and health issues.

What we offer

There are a number of features to the project. These include:

• Providing safe, good quality accommodation where individuals can concentrate on their futures
• Ensuring all residents are treated with respect and dignity, and expecting them to behave similarly
• The staff model and promote pro-social behaviours
• Encouraging the residents to have a voice in the development of the project and to take some responsibility for day to day aspects, and to be consulted about large policy changes
• Helping individuals to make changes
• Supporting such changes through activities such as groupwork; counselling, keyworking and in-house workshops and life and social skills groups. We encourage and help people to link with community learning and education providers
• Providing emotional support
• Providing a structure in which adults can live, and learn to develop their own sense of boundaries and the standards by which they want to live
• Generating opportunities for effective peer mentoring to encourage the giving and receiving of support. Allowing peer mentors to develop new skills
• Providing opportunities for people with offending or substance misuse backgrounds, or who have been past residents, to engage in volunteering, and for some to engage in employment

Other activities

• Activities evening
• Narcotics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous and Cocaine Anonymous Groups in house
• Support to find voluntary work
• Cookery Group
• Trips out , when finances allow

Throughout the project, residents have been involved in consultations about the development of the project and its policies. For example, it was with residents’ commitment and commentary that the housing project became a completely dry project and instituted drug and alcohol testing. Residents are understood to be the best sources of information about their needs and what will work best for them.

Phase One

People enter St Vincent’s through the comfortable and homely 8-bed house in phase one. For the first four weeks they will engage in all activities and groups and be seen by a member of staff three times a day. There is a 10pm curfew. During this time and for a period of three months, residents will attend the day treatment programme at Serenity House.

Residents continue on probation for a total of four months. However, all being well, after the first four weeks, they are free to choose whether they wish to participate in groups such as cookery and nutrition; self-help groups; leisure activities run by project staff. All residents do the following:

• Attend house meetings
• Attend the feelings meeting
• Attend keyworking
• Attend counselling
• Attend women’s group, if appropriate
• Complete daily communal cleaning
• Attend a minimum of three outside meetings per week of the relevant Fellowship.

Phase 2

Once assessed as ready, people can move to the move-on house. The following are some of the criteria

• Reliability; for example being where you say you’ll be, when you say you’ll be there, and doing what you say you’ll do.
• Having a degree of self organisation
• Having basic life skills such as money management and eating reasonably sensibly
• Not being considered at risk in terms of mental health or substance misuse relapse
• Having established community links and support
• Having established activities; for example a college course, attendance at groups or workshops or voluntary work
• Working at recovery  via the Fellowships.

We offer a smooth transition from the hostel, via move on accommodation, into your own accommodation.