Bath-based Developing Health & Independence, known as DHI, one of the region’s largest social care charities, is celebrating its 20th birthday by looking forward to the future.
Keith Hellawell, former Government’s Drugs Czar (right) on a visit to DHI shortly after it was founded
Developing Health & Independence, formerly known as the Drugs & Homeless Initiative, was founded by Rosie Phillips in 1999 with the aim to help people out of the cycle of poverty, homelessness, social isolation and drug or alcohol abuse, responding to clients’ needs by offering a tailored programme of support from a wide range of services.
Over the last two decades, the charity has grown from a single supported house with one member of staff to helping over 6000 people annually and employing nearly 200 people, all of whom help many thousands of clients in Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Bristol, Somerset and Wiltshire to regain control of their lives.
“At a time when homelessness is on the rise and drug-related deaths are higher than ever, it’s vital that we all engage in tacking the issues that continue to perpetuate the crisis,” said Rosie Phillips.
“Developing Health & Independence has always been an innovative and solution focused charity, led by our vision and values in the face of challenge.
“That’s why, rather than looking backwards, we have decided to celebrate our 20th anniversary year by looking forward.”
The Vision Project, launched by DHI this week, is a planned programme of activities including articles, podcasts and events which will explore the future and how we as a society need to respond to today’s causes of social exclusion.
“We want to encourage debate, because social exclusion won’t be ended if nothing changes,” Rosie added.
On Tuesday 26th March, DHI will host ‘Just Say It’, a discussion for young people at the Egg Theatre, asking them how we ensure that today’s youth don’t become tomorrow’s socially excluded.
The forum will also explore issues and raise questions around topics such as homelessness, social media, self-image, mental health issues and access to drugs via the dark web.
Towards the end of February, a poetry book bringing together a collection of poems written by DHI clients, volunteers, peers and staff will be published.
In the spring, a four-part podcast series will be produced by Dom Chambers of Somer Valley FM and throughout the year a series of related short articles will be released on DHI’s website.
The theme of both the podcasts and the articles will explore how DHI can turn around the lives of those who are vulnerable with complex problems and help end social exclusion, with input from experts from around the country including Danny Kushlick (founder of the Transform Drugs Policy Foundation), Amanda Deeks (Chief Executive of South Gloucestershire Council) and Stephen Robertson (Chief Executive of The Big Issue Foundation).
In the first article for The Vision Project, Rosie Phillips writes about how a Canadian lab rat experiment from the 1970s holds the key to ending social exclusion today.
The piece, entitled ‘From Rat Park to Housing First – Why Maslow Still Matters’ is available to read on DHI’s website at www.dhi-online.org.uk/vision-project.
