Tyneside ACE Pilot
Based in central Newcastle-upon-Tyne, this ACE Pilot is run by Tyneside Cyrenians, an award winning charity, founded in 1970, which offers vital housing support, training and employment opportunities to vulnerable people over the age of 16, operating a ‘total acceptance policy’.
The Tyneside ACE Project works with chronically excluded individuals who are not accessing existing services or who are deemed to be inappropriate for existing provision, often because of complex needs. It uses day and night outreach to seek out excluded individuals who include rough sleepers, sex workers and those with drugs, alcohol and mental heath problems.
The unique feature of this pilot is that all the project workers are ex-service users who have in the past experienced chronic exclusion. These are the people with whom the target group are most likely to engage and can be excellent role models. They are knowledgeable and passionate about the many indefinable barriers to accessing services and possess empathy and insight into how to make contact and initiate change.
Once they have engaged with the ACE team, individuals are helped to access specialist services either by bringing these services directly to the excluded individuals or by accompanying them to appointments to ensure that they actually attend, to advocate for them and to work jointly with these services to promote the best outcome for the individual clients. The project aims to significantly increase levels of engagement and inclusion for adults who are chronically excluded.
It is hoped that this pilot will also have an influence on how local services are delivered so that they are better co-ordinated around the person in need, rather than different providers or different systems operating with rigid frameworks and barriers that are particularly difficult for those with chaotic lifestyles to access.
The Project is supported by an advisory group which looks at both the operational and strategic context of the pilot. This consists of representatives from health, housing, drug services, probation, prison as well as Government Office North East and the National Treatment Agency.
For more information contact:
Neil Baird (Acting Social Inclusion Manager)
Tel: 0191 256 2910
Email: n.baird@tcuk.org
Garry Bryson (ACE Team Leader)
Tel: 0191 232 5699
Email: g.bryson@tcuk.org
Visit the website: http://www.tynesidecyrenians.co.uk/ [External website]
