The Dual Diagnosis Street Project (DDSP), based in Mill Road, work with entrenched rough sleepers who are still rough sleeping or who have recently moved into a hostel or temporary accommodation.
DDSP support service users, most of whom also experience mental health difficulties and use substances, to access mainstream services.
The DDSP team were vital partners in helping us achieve sustainable, lasting change for our guests, many of whom were already known to the service. Offering rough sleepers a long-term place at the project meant DDSP were able to arrange appointments that were less likely to be missed, as support staff were able to meet guests at Crossways.
"Graham and Iris from the Dual Diagnosis Street Project have been regular visitors to our Crossways project over the last two winters. Their expertise in their field and exceptional rapport with our guests have contributed enormously to our ability to accommodate chronically excluded individuals for meaningful periods of time, during which we were able to assist those guests to access other services with which they had previously failed to engage.
Not only did Graham and Iris provide support to our guests around addressing their mental health and substance issues but their advice and input regarding general life and social skills were invaluable too.
They also imparted great advice to our staff team about how best to support and communicate with individuals who experienced mental health episodes during their time at Crossways."
Chris Dade, ITAC Services Manager
We asked Graham Murray from DDSP about working in partnership at Crossways.
“Crossways has been a fantastic resource for rough sleepers and services such as ours. The cold weather provision that starts in November through to March, provides a forum for us to meet with service users in a relaxed environment, sharing meals and conversation. Rapport and trust are developed, interventions offered, and future support planned for.
We found that a high proportion of those we worked with at Crossways would go onto stable accommodation.
The staff, such as Chris and Emma, are trusted colleagues, whom we greatly rely on to deliver our service”.
Graham Murray, Mental Health Nurse, DDSP Team Leader
