Lee – I’m staying out of trouble and I’m in the best position I’ve ever been in

Lee’s behaviour had been a problem since he was a child. He was getting excluded from school and causing trouble at home and his parents were struggling to cope.

"My parents put me in a children’s home for a couple of weeks because we all needed a break," said Lee. "I came home and was fine for a bit but then I started with the bad behaviour again, so I went back into care. It carried on like that until I turned 16 and left home. For the next 12 years I was in and out of prison for minor offences, bingeing on alcohol and getting into trouble, sleeping rough across Cambridge and going round in circles."

Making Every Adult Matter

Lee was a concern to many agencies across Cambridgeshire, but none of the multiple interventions he had been receiving were having an impact.

In February 2011, Lee was referred to the Chronically Excluded Adults pilot after being identified as a chaotic person who repeatedly passed through local services. The pilot was one of three being supported by Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM) – a coalition of the national charities Clinks, DrugScope, Homeless Link and Mind – to better coordinate existing services for people facing multiple needs and exclusions, improve outcomes and deliver better value for money. 

Multiple Needs Coordinator

The pilot provided Lee with a Multiple Needs Coordinator, Tom Tallon. Tom explains: "I’m service neutral and I work flexibly as a link in the system that otherwise wouldn’t be there. Most services work well for 99 per cent of people. I’m working with that one per cent that people usually give up on. Because of strategic buy in and my close working relationship with all local agencies, I can go to services and ask them to try something different for my client.

"I’m solely here to act in the best interests of Lee. I coordinate everything he needs to do and follow his journey wherever he goes rather than him being passed from service to service with new keyworkers at every stage.

"This is where it can often fall down for people with multiple needs. They’ll be doing ok, then something will happen and they’ll maybe go to prison for a petty offence. When they come out they’ve got a completely new set of workers and everything they had in place before is gone, so they go round in a circle again.

"Lee was banned from most of the places that were there to help him, but I’m able to work intensively with him and now he is on a single journey. We’ll take steps forwards and steps back, but I have that long-term focus for him."

Tom began by giving Lee a mobile phone so he could arrange appointments with him. He then documented Lee’s health needs, which helped increase his priority for housing. Lee wanted to remove himself from a social group he associated with problem drinking so Tom helped him find a flat outside Cambridge. To prevent Lee from feeling isolated, Tom gave him weekly bus tickets to the city, funded through a small personal budget.

Lee was still binge drinking so Tom worked with him to develop new social networks. Although Lee faced two more court appearances, Tom was able to explain the process Lee was going through, resulting in him receiving fines rather than a prison sentence.

Tom also helped mediate some neighbourhood disputes, always ensuring Lee knew when he was in the wrong. Tom also secured an agreement with a specialist GP to take Lee on as a patient and assess his behaviour, despite Lee living out of the practice area.

Reduction in anti-social behaviour

Tom’s intensive support means he is in regular contact with Lee, even taking him to do his weekly food shopping. Local services have already noticed the reduction in Lee’s anti-social behaviour and Lee is now looking for a job.

Lee, now 29, admits he still has a long way to go: "I still need to sort out my drinking because I use that to cope when things become a struggle. And I need to build up my confidence because having been in care and prison, I’ve always just put a front on.

"But working with Tom has been different because all the other agencies told me what they thought was best for me and what they wanted me to do. The really big difference with Tom is that he listens to how I want to go forward and what I want to do, then he tailors my support to that.

"Tom has bent over backwards to help me. I’m staying out of trouble, I’ve got my first proper flat, a great girlfriend and I’m in the best position I’ve ever been in."

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•