New provider announced for Blackburn with Darwen’s Substance Misuse Services

The Calico Group has been announced as the new provider for the borough’s substance misuse services.

As of April 2022, the organisation will work in partnership with Blackburn with Darwen Council to deliver recovery services and easy access support to young people and adults across the borough.

Following a competitive tendering process, the new partnership aims to build on the achievements of previous and existing providers in the borough. The service has been run by national charity CGL since 2015.

Calico has announced an innovative partnership model called the Recovery Collaborative. It will aim to help service providers, stakeholders, service users and community groups to work together towards a sustainable recovery system for people using the service.

The model is inclusive and flexible as it combines specialist drug and alcohol services with health, housing and criminal justice partners, alongside service users, community groups and infrastructure organisations to aim to bring transformational change to people using the service, their families and the communities they live in.

The Calico Group works across Lancashire and Greater Manchester, and includes charities and businesses working together in health and wellbeing, housing, skills, training and development and construction across the board aiming for improvements in society and standard of living for all,

The delivery partnership will be made up of the Calico Group’s companies Delphi Medical and Acorn Recover Projects, working alongside partners Early Break, Red Rose Recovery, Community CVS, Inspire Motivate and other community partners.

The substance misuse service takes in a range of service contracts, covering both young people’s services through to adulthood and criminal justice.

The support is ‘open access’, meaning anyone who needs help can get it without an appointment or a referral. A team of trained staff support people who need help in a range of ways including therapeutic group work, psychosocial interventions, prescribing and clinical interventions including detox, counselling, family work and a range of recreational and wellbeing focused activities to improve social networks and reduce isolation.

Staff can also support people who just want to reduce their alcohol use to improve health and wellbeing.

A wide range of partners also offer additional support including housing advice, access to training, volunteering education and support to establish enterprises. The result is a fully integrated service that will support people, families and communities to recover and make lasting and positive change to all age groups.

Councillor Damian Talbot, Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing, said:

I would like to welcome Calico Group as the new substance misuse service provider, and would like to thank CGL for the service they have provided over the past 7 years.

The application contained some really exciting proposals and opportunities for the service and we are looking forward to building on what has already been achieved so positively in Blackburn with Darwen whilst forging these new relationships.

High quality drug and alcohol support services are absolutely essential to help people start to turn their lives around, stay safe and healthy in the long term, and stop problematic drug and alcohol use in our community.”

Tom Woodcock Calico’s Director of Treatment and Recovery said

We are really excited about this opportunity to contribute to the health, wellbeing, and prosperity of communities in Blackburn with Darwen. We aim to facilitate a new collaborative approach alongside our delivery partners, and to connect people with the help and support they need to overcome addiction and establish positive and productive lifestyles,

A lot of good work has been done by CGL over the last few years and the new Recovery Collaborative will build on this, bringing the unique range of the Calico Group and our partners to create a social movement for health and recovery across the borough.”

This is a statutory service that must be provided as a condition of the Public Health Ring Fenced Grant Allocation under the Health and Social Care Act (2012) since 1^st April 2013.