Fran Nowell Founder

Hi, I'm Fran, the founder of Alpha House. I was a probation officer for many years and increasingly witnessed the need for the provision of good accommodation, wrap around support and a day programme for men desperate to break free from addiction.

I was praying one day when God clearly led me to do something about it. Who? me? Thankfully, He sent many amazing people to help bring about Alpha House as it is now. I feel so blessed to still be a small part of all that is going on, saving and rebuilding lives, enabling our guys to be the best they can be.

ABOUT ALPHA HOUSE CALDERDALE

Alpha House has a 3 Staged Accommodation Programme.

Alpha House came into being due to the lack of housing for people coming out of prison and returning to Halifax and the surrounding areas experiencing multiple and complex issues including drugs/alcohol dependency, mental health problems and a range of social and domestic issues. This made it very difficult to get people housed as well as appropriately treated on release from prison. Many other Housing providers could not help our client group due to them being high risk and as a consequence produced delayed outcomes.

Our Service User's

We predominantly seek to assist those who are being released from prison or referred via the criminal justice system or mental health services. However, this should not deter people who have addiction issues with a history of offending and/or mental health issue and we will take a
self-referral if the person concerned has been in touch in the past with an organisation who can vouch for them or willing to give them a reference.

Our Treatment Program

Our treatment element is a structured therapeutic approach to recovery extending beyond simply looking at addiction, but also mental health, social and domestic issues and lifestyle, particularly offending behaviour.
Our residents are expected to attend all Key Worker sessions, groups and accredited courses run by the project.
Residents must attend a therapeutic Day Treatment Recovery Programme as part of their overall care package.
Residents must attend three 12 Step Fellowship meetings a week.
Residents will undergo a full needs assessment before being housed and may be required to attend other drugs or alcohol services as well as accessing mental health provision where needed.
The aim of the project is to provide support towards independence. This includes working towards gaining employment beginning with volunteering, training and work placements. We will assist with access to these when the time is right.
We feel there can be so much wasted potential in people, and this increases where there is an addiction problem and/or mental health issue. Our staff are committed to helping people to go as far as they want to go to achieve their full potential in life.

We also accept Day-Clients who are not resident with us if they fit our criteria.

Our Accommodation

We have a 3 Stage Accommodation Programme. Stage 1 is designed to provide concentrated structure and support, with 24/7 on-site staff. Generally, this will mean a stay of up to 12 weeks. There are three options in Stage 1, Acute Unit, Additional Needs Unit, and Support Unit, depending on resident need. During this period residents will attend our Change of Lifestyle Programme which will address addiction, mental health, and offending behaviour. During this phase, residents are supported and prepared for Stage 2.
Stage 2 properties are self-contained apartments in a block of 18 flats which are all managed by Alpha House. This provides a “recovery community” with on-call staff available to deal with any problems arising and staff are available at the adjacent Support Unit. A Tailored recovery programme is designed to meet the needs of those in Stage 2.
Stage 3 of the Housing Programme is a property further out in the community and a recovery programme which includes education/training/volunteering or work training. Whilst in these properties, residents are expected to be preparing for independence and finding their own property and gaining employment.

Our Criteria

A desire to have a lifestyle change and become an industrious citizen; that is to say, a person who wishes to address all of their needs and to eventually return to work.

Minimum requirement:

Residents provides 3 clean drugs/alcohol tests prior to entry
Prison Referral – clean test on entry
Resident agrees to abstain from drugs and alcohol whilst residing in Alpha House Accommodation
Resident agrees to; and signs up to Tenancy License Agreement and “House Rules”
To be eligible for the scheme, a resident must have a Keyworker allocated to them and agree to work in collaboration with them to formulate a Care Plan and work towards agreed goals
Typically, though not always, a resident will be in a prescribed treatment regime. This involves a Clinical Drugs Worker being involved in their care, (By another provider).
Where necessary, a resident will be in a prescribing treatment programme, counselling, and Day Treatment Programme.
Resident agrees to attend a Day Treatment Programme and a personalised Timetable of courses and groups to fulfil their rehabilitation and resettlement programme.
Professionals named on a resident’s Care Plan will be involved in providing relevant support.
A resident may be subject to DRR – and will engage with their programme – but will be expected to access their Day Treatment Programme when not attending DRR

Planned rules, policies and processes around eviction

Alpha House will operate the following rules relating to eviction:

A resident’s tenancy is monitored against the criteria for access and the House Rules of the scheme.

A warning system will be in place and depending on the severity of the breach of House Rules may result in eviction.

Taking Personal Responsibility

Our Commitment

We realise that our clients have different needs and that the progression to independent living needs to happen in stages, so we work hard to help service users in the “move-on” process before they move on to independent tenancies in their own properties.

We are a Supported Housing Project with a Change of Lifestyle Training Programme including many courses and groups dealing with mental health issues.

All our referrals for housing come through SWAP (Safe Welcome After Prison) who generally take referrals via the criminal justice system and engage them into treatment programmes as well as providing essentials such as clothing, food vouchers, and on occasion, a mobile phone. They also engage day service users who may not require accommodation to begin with but later are referred to Alpha House.

Alpha House is not a soft option, and we only take people who are committed to working towards an independent and industrious lifestyle by attending all our Change of Lifestyle Training sessions.

We believe in providing a quality service for our clients in line with public health needs and to this end, we are monitored and accredited by Quality for Health

Our Programme:

Our main provision is focused on the rehabilitation of offenders by addressing mental health issues and a range of social and domestic problems. We do this by utilising a number of interventions; group work, Key Working, Counselling sessions and accredited courses, QLS, Skills and Education Group.

Our weekly schedule includes Key Working, Counselling and a range of groups and courses listed below:

Check-In Group - Accountability.

Relapse Prevention - Accredited Course.

Just for Today Group - Peer led.

Dealing with Anxiety - Accredited Course.

Dealing with Harmful Thinking - Accredited Course.

Gambling and Money Management - Accredited Course.

Respect and Safety for Women - Accredited Diploma.

Anger Management and Conflict Resolution - Accredited Course.

Addressing Offending - Accredited Course.

Workability in Rehabilitation - Accredited Diploma Course.

Addiction Recovery - Accredited Course.

Just for Today Group - Peer led.

Dealing with Depression – Accredited Course.

Change of Lifestyle Programme - Group.

Process Group - Taking Responsibility.

Check-Out Group - Accountability.

Your Journey Begins Here

Join Our Community of Recovery

We are a supported Housing Project with a Change of Lifestyle Training Programme including many courses and groups dealing with mental health issues.

All our referrals for housing come through SWAP, Safe Welcome After Prison who generally take referrals via the criminal justice system and engage them into treatment programmes as well as providing essentials such as clothing, food vouchers and on occasion, a mobile phone. They also engage day service users who may not require accommodation to begin with but later are referred to Alpha House.