Changing Futures Northumbria (CFN) was a 5 year programme aiming to improve outcomes for adults experiencing multiple disadvantages. One of the guiding principles was building communities of support through Network Meetings which provided a forum to coordinate support between the person themselves, support providers, community groups, family and friends.
Network Meetings aimed to develop a single narrative to clarify what mattered to the person and the role of different agencies and people in supporting them to achieve this. Network meetings were called within 6 weeks of someone working with CFN and met at least monthly. After introductions, meetings started with a focus on what mattered to the person themselves with professionals and other attendees asking clarifying questions. Services then gave updates on their current involvement after which the group discussed opportunities to work together and agreed next steps.
Over time through having a better understanding of the individual, the organisations involved started to be more flexible in what they offered. For example, one Housing Officer had stated that the person would never be housed in a particular area. Through listening to their Probation Officer, it was agreed to house the person in that area temporarily and with the continued support of the Network Meeting, that person moved into permanent accommodation there. Another example was addiction services offering ‘open’ appointments to an individual to attend when they were ready. It was agreed that they would say when they were ready and the service would then engage in an appropriate way. This demonstrated a shift from the notion of ‘having to comply’ to ‘how best to engage’.
You can read more about Network Meetings and the approach of Changing Futures Northumbria in the Playbook.