A new ten-year programme has been launched by Waythrough. Backed by at least £10m, The way ahead has a goal of ‘saving a million lives, and enhancing a million more’, the charity states.
Waythrough, which supports more than 130,000 people across 260 services annually, will focus on breaking down the barriers that stop people from accessing the help they need, it says, with the aim of transforming how support is ‘designed, delivered and connected’ for people experiencing substance use and mental health issues.
At its centre will be a ‘commitment to tackle fragmentation across health, care and community systems’, it says – to stop people being passed between services. The strategy has been informed by the voices of people supported by the organisation, including members of its Life Experience Council who set the strategic questions that the strategy has responded to.
‘The people we serve believe we can do more to break down the barriers they experience when they need us most, and so do I,’ said CEO Paul Townsley. ‘During the 30 years I have worked in this sector across our diverse communities, I have seen the significant issues people face getting the quality, wraparound services they deserve for drug, alcohol and mental health issues. The time for action is now – people’s lives should not be at risk because of system failures. We’re under no illusion about what’s required to achieve our goal of saving a million lives and enhancing a million more. But we believe we have the collective political will and community support to achieve generational change. We want to develop new service models with our partners, commissioners and the people we support. To do this, Waythrough will provide sustained investment to make those connected pathways a reality by 2036.’
The way ahead is available here