Fulfilling Lives – Fulfilling Lives

9 12, 2021

Every day’s a learning day – honest reflections on personal development
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Every day’s a learning day – honest reflections on personal development

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Every day’s a learning day – honest reflections on personal development

By Bev Hardman|2021-12-09T10:51:41+00:00December 9th, 2021|Categories: Blog|Tags: awards, BCFT, Birmingham Changing Futures Together, champion, Fulfilling Lives, learning|

In her third blog for us, Bev Hardman reflects on how far she has come since working on the Birmingham Changing Futures Together Programme. This is a follow on from her first and second blogs.

Recipe to aid achievement: three scoops of self-belief, two large handfuls of confidence and a generous helping of determination – no pinches, drizzles or dashes here, just good old-fashioned dollops of all the above! (More scoops can be added if desired).

Following on from my two previous blogs, I thought I’d talk about where I am today in terms of my development.

Looking back at my journey whilst working on the Birmingham Changing Futures Together Programme and the Inreach Outreach work stream, it’s sometimes hard for me to […]

4 07, 2019

Multiple Disadvantage Day, Take One
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Multiple Disadvantage Day, Take One

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Multiple Disadvantage Day, Take One

By Chris Milner|2019-07-04T09:15:28+00:00July 4th, 2019|Categories: Blog|Tags: briefing, evaluation, events, Fulfilling Lives, homelessness, mental health, multiple disadvantage, multiple disadvantage day, Multiple Needs, offending, stigma, substance misuse, systems change|

Chris Milner joined the Fulfilling Lives national evaluation team in February 2019. In his first blog he explores the role of art and emotion in recovery and raising awareness.

The first Multiple Disadvantage Day took place on July 3^rd 2019. The day marked an important stepping stone towards tackling the stigma associated with complex experiences of homelessness, offending, substance misuse and mental ill-health. These disadvantages are so often co-existing that it is essential that they are addressed together, and that we #seethefullpicture. By raising awareness of the reasons behind people’s circumstances, Multiple Disadvantage day aimed to encourage people to think before making a judgement.

[…]

2 07, 2019

What makes a difference – new briefing published
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What makes a difference – new briefing published

News, Project Evaluation

What makes a difference – new briefing published

By Jo Welford|2019-07-02T13:13:21+00:00July 2nd, 2019|Categories: News, Project Evaluation|Tags: briefing, evaluation, Fulfilling Lives, support, what works|

The third paper in our series of briefings on multiple needs has been published today. The series draws upon data collected by Fulfilling Lives partnerships on the beneficiaries they have supported.

We know that too often people with multiple needs are denied the support they need, labelled as too high risk to work with or seen as making ‘life-style choices’ to be homeless or self-medicate trauma with substances. The Fulfilling Lives programme shows it is possible to engage and support people with the most complex needs; those who mainstream services may exclude or refuse to help due to perceived high levels of risk and challenging behaviour.

Briefing 3 explores what makes a difference when working with this group of people, and how progress differs amongst the group.

20 06, 2019

Homelessness: We Know the Issues, but What About the Solutions?
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Homelessness: We Know the Issues, but What About the Solutions?

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Homelessness: We Know the Issues, but What About the Solutions?

By Andrew Corley|2019-06-24T15:36:33+00:00June 20th, 2019|Categories: Blog|Tags: beneficiaries, Fulfilling Lives, homelessness, housing, Multiple Needs, systems change|

Homelessness is in the news and has caught the public’s concern. But what I find frustrating is that relatively little is discussed about the solutions. Partnerships delivering the Fulfilling Lives programme have helped to make significant progress in reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. Among Fulfilling Lives beneficiaries we see a reduction in rough sleeping from 25 per cent to 17 per cent during their first year on the programme. I feel that partnership efforts deserve to play a central role in the discussion.

Our report, Promising Practice, explored how Fulfilling Lives partnerships have used Housing First approaches. Overall, the evidence suggests a high level of tenancy sustainment amongst Housing First beneficiaries.

Housing First is a client-centred model that supports individuals into independent […]

2 05, 2019

Why we need to invest in multiple needs – new briefing out now
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Why we need to invest in multiple needs – new briefing out now

News, Project Evaluation

Why we need to invest in multiple needs – new briefing out now

By Chris Milner|2021-04-01T09:22:46+00:00May 2nd, 2019|Categories: News, Project Evaluation|Tags: Big Lottery, briefing, Fulfilling Lives, MCN, Multiple Needs, research|

This is the first in a series of briefings on multiple needs, drawing on data collected by Fulfilling Lives partnerships on their beneficiaries. In this briefing we explore the substantial cost to the public purse created by misdirected and avoidable use of public services, as well as the human, social and economic costs.

The briefing also looks at how, after getting support from Fulfilling Lives for nearly a year, people have fewer negative interactions with public services, including fewer arrests, convictions, evictions and visits to A&E.

To note: this briefing was updated in March 2021. The updated briefing which uses more recent data and looks at outcomes over a longer period of time can be read here.

29 03, 2019

Contagion of Hope
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Contagion of Hope

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Contagion of Hope

By Beth Collinson|2019-05-14T08:34:48+00:00March 29th, 2019|Categories: Blog|Tags: beneficiaries, evaluation, Fulfilling Lives, Multiple Needs, practitioners, systems change|

Beth Collinson will be joining the Fulfilling Lives national evaluation team from April 2019 leading on our learning programme. In this, her first blog, she talks about the inspiration gained from attending a recent event held by one of the Fulfilling Lives partnerships.

Throughout my PhD, the social contagion of recovery (from substance misuse), became a predominant element of my work. In one of my first presentations, I explained that just as human emotions like happiness can be contagious, recovery is too. A colleague of mine (Professor David Best) explains in his work that the social contagion of recovery has the potential for “transmitting hope and the belief that recovery is possible even to those who are not yet ready to commit to abstinence“.

30 01, 2019

New report published: “Promising practice”, with key findings from local evaluations to date
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New report published: “Promising practice”, with key findings from local evaluations to date

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New report published: “Promising practice”, with key findings from local evaluations to date

By Jo Welford|2019-05-07T13:41:14+00:00January 30th, 2019|Categories: News|Tags: evaluation, Fulfilling Lives, interventions, Multiple Needs, research, systems change, what works|

The national evaluation team have published key findings from local evaluations in their latest report, Promising Practice. The report:

Highlights approaches and interventions that appear promising based on local evaluation evidence;
Shares learning on successful implementation of these approaches;
Considers how different interventions are contributing the the programme’s systems change ambitions; and
Informs further evaluation activities.

[…]

28 01, 2019

Frontline workforce – it’s a question of pragmatism
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Frontline workforce – it’s a question of pragmatism

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Frontline workforce – it’s a question of pragmatism

By VicCitarella|2019-05-14T08:45:23+00:00January 28th, 2019|Categories: Blog|Tags: frontline, Fulfilling Lives, Multiple Needs, practitioners, pragmatism, systems change, workforce|

Having purpose, an eye for detail and a sense of curiosity are the Fulfilling Lives workforce attributes I have flagged as desirable in previous blogs. Time is often at a premium for staff. Smaller caseloads and flexibility are ways of extending the time available to beneficiaries. Which brings me round to another attribute for the practitioner which, is pragmatism.

As I said in the item on curiosity, practitioners engaged with the evaluation of theory not only contribute to better practice but ensure theory is grounded in pragmatism. Thereby theory becomes better as well. People become less inclined to say: ‘that is alright in theory, but it doesn’t work in practice’. A pragmatic practitioner doesn’t just know the theory, but they act on it because it works.

[…]

27 06, 2018

The need for change: Reflections from the newest member of the national evaluation team
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The need for change: Reflections from the newest member of the national evaluation team

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The need for change: Reflections from the newest member of the national evaluation team

By Jo Welford|2019-05-14T10:23:56+00:00June 27th, 2018|Categories: Blog, News|Tags: annual report, beneficiaries, Big Lottery, evaluation, Fulfilling Lives, Multiple Needs, research, systems change|

It’s now six months since I joined the Fulfilling Lives national evaluation team. My background is in community and criminal justice research, so I have a degree of familiarity with the target group. I have evaluated initiatives to help re-engagement on release from prison, to provide pathways to education and ultimately employment, and to help with accommodation and independent living. Offenders often have chaotic lifestyles and multiple needs including experience of homelessness, alcohol and/or drug dependency, and/or mental health issues. You can often find childhood trauma, special educational needs or attachment issues as well. What struck me time and time again when listening to offenders and their workers tell me their stories was the lack of coherent support available to people who are in desperate […]

26 04, 2018

Latest Report from the Fulfilling Lives National Evaluation Published
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Latest Report from the Fulfilling Lives National Evaluation Published

News, Project Evaluation

Latest Report from the Fulfilling Lives National Evaluation Published

By Jo Welford|2019-05-14T10:40:06+00:00April 26th, 2018|Categories: News, Project Evaluation|Tags: beneficiaries, evaluation, frontline, Fulfilling Lives, Multiple Needs, practitioners, research|

The latest national evaluation report on the Fulfilling Lives (Supporting People with Multiple Needs) programme, published today by CFE, shows continuing high demand for help. The 12 funded projects have successfully engaged with nearly 3,000 people affected by homelessness, substance misuse, offending and mental ill health.

Beneficiaries who remain with the programme show clear signs of progress, but this takes time and substantial resource. Project staff often need to spend extended periods of time with beneficiaries and have to be flexible to cope with chaotic lives. However some beneficiaries have needs for which they will always require support. What constitutes success varies from person to person and in many cases, success is about developing strategies, resilience and understanding to effectively manage their needs.

The report includes clear […]

19 03, 2018

How to Write a Good Survey
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How to Write a Good Survey

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How to Write a Good Survey

By Kerry Dowding|2019-05-14T09:41:52+00:00March 19th, 2018|Categories: Blog|Tags: Fulfilling Lives, hints, MCN, survey design, survey methods, tips and tricks|

A key feature of Fulfilling Lives is that it is a learning programme; it aims to gather and share learning about what works, what doesn’t and what needs to change. A frequently used method to collect views and experiences from which to develop learning is the survey. In this blog, Kerry Dowding (Research and Evaluation Officer, Fulfilling Lives South East) shares her tricks and tips on how to get the most out of your survey design. Kerry has been creating surveys for the voluntary sector for the last eight years, and received a Masters of Research in 2016.

It’s 4.50pm, and you remember that you promised to send out a few survey questions by the end of the day. You scribble out some questions that roughly […]