A couple of weeks ago Matt from Your Herefordshire met some of the team from Turning Point at a volunteers event at The Courtyard in Hereford.
Matt was subsequently invited to meet the rest of the team and for a tour of the main office which is situated on Offa Street in Hereford.
Turning Point are a leading social enterprise, providing health and social care services in over 300 locations across England.
The Herefordshire Recovery Service is commissioned by Herefordshire Council.
Matt was introduced to Chris Franks who is the Operations Manager and moved to Hereford from his native Kent just over two years ago.
Chris told Your Herefordshire:
“I relocated to Hereford in August 2021 to come and work for Turning Point. It’s been a fantastic career move for me. I have worked in this field for nearly 20 years and wanted a fresh new challenge.”
Matt asked Chris what areas Turning Point covers across the county.
Chris replied:
“Due to Herefordshire being a rural county transport can be a problem, so as well as Hereford being our central office we have hubs in Leominster, Bromyard, Kington, Ledbury, Leominster and Ross-on-Wye.
“We also have an outreach vehicle, which helps us bring support to where people need it most.”
What type of services the team offer? Chris continued:
“We have a range of treatment options, including an evidence-based treatment programme where people can talk about their experiences and get advice on how to move forward.
“We encourage our participants to talk about their alcohol or drug use and listen to others who have been in a similar situation, we also support people to detox from alcohol, providing nurse-led interventions and testing for Blood Borne Viruses (BBVs) to help eliminate Hepatitis C.
“We also offer Naloxone, a life-saving drug that can reverse the effects of an opiate overdose and we’re passionate about as many people as possible carrying this.”
To find out more about Naloxone -> Naloxone – Naloxone Saves Lives
Chris continued:
“It can be scary to ask for help so we support people who need us as much as we can, we want to massively destigmatize people asking for help so we are available to contact through a various number of ways.
Firstly they can either see us face to face, they can also call us up, or they can contact us via the website, everything we do is totally confidential, so if you need support please don’t be afraid to ask for our help, it’s what we are trained to do and everything we do remains confidential.”
How old can members of the public be to access the service Matt asked?
“We have a young people/young adult pathway from 11-24, then adults 25 and above, we also provide a service for the family or loved ones of somebody who is using alcohol or drugs, we can provide support to them and help them as much as we can with advice and an evidence-based 5-step approach.”
Chris added:
“We also help rough sleepers in the county and work with people involved in the criminal justice system too.
“We can offer structured treatment or a targeted approach to help support people who need our help and guidance. We train people with lived experience to volunteer with us too.”
Matt asked Chris how the volunteering programme works:
“We train people over an eight-week period, usually held every Monday from 10-4, our peer mentors are people who use their lived experience to help others and we would be grateful for volunteers willing to spare time and help us support more people.”
Jimi, one of the recent graduates from the volunteer training programme told us:
“It has improved my life in so many ways. I am heading towards a career that I believe is meaningful. I didn’t see these things as possible a year ago.”
Chris added:
“Turning Point can be contacted on 0300 555 0747, or you can visit our website which is -> Herefordshire Recovery Service | Turning Point (turning-point.co.uk) or just pop in and come and see the team during our opening hours.
Opening times
Monday 9:30am – 5:00pm
Tuesday 9:30pm – 5:00pm (8:00pm by appointment only)
Wednesday 1:30pm – 5:00pm (female-only space)
Thursday 9:30am – 5:00pm
Friday 9:30am – 5:00pm
Closed bank holidays
Other hub locations may vary.
