A new specialist residential family service ‘Harper House’ is opening soon in Saltcoats, North Ayrshire. The service will provide drug and alcohol treatment that considers the impact on each member of the family and the family as a whole.
- The Specialist Family Service Model
- Awareness sessions
- How to make a referral to the service
The Specialist Family Service Model
Phoenix has more than 50 years’ experience of providing specialist residential rehabilitation services. They have offered a similar model across England and Wales for 25 years. They support people who use their services to address their substance use, improve their mental health, develop parenting and childcare skills and leave us with a comprehensive aftercare plan.
At Harper House they will offer a unique, family-focused programme of interventions which benefit each member of the family and the family unit as a whole. Families stay together at the service meaning that parents remain the carers of their children at the same time as taking part in the programme. Alongside this, Specialist childcare staff provide support to children and the family.
They are the only service of our kind across Scotland which welcomes dads as part of the programme as well as mums.
The Programme
Their flexible programmes at the Specialist Family Service are responsive to family’s needs and lasting between 12 and 26 weeks. The programme brings together three main elements; therapeutic interventions, parenting and childcare responsive to the individual needs of each family. The parenting element is underpinned by evidence-based interventions which enhances the parents ability to manage their child’s development. The majority of children they support are infants who have their development supported and assessed in our Care Inspectorate registered childcare centre.
The staff team are highly skilled and experienced with a passion for helping people create brighter futures for themselves, their families and communities. Working alongside children, parents and local authority social services we provide an environment that enables families to stay and grow together.
Detox
For Client’s with a need, their service model includes a medically supervised detox. In order to ensure they support people safely and appropriately they have a defined assessment criteria.
If a detox is not required, if parents’ detox in their home setting or in an external inpatient unit, then families can join the service post-detox.
Childcare & Parenting
The Specialist Family Service provides care based on a comprehensive assessment of child development and well-being, as well as making observations around parenting. Children have access to the on-site Children’s Day Care Centre, and the integrated teams ensure support for the Whole Family. Community Members benefit from direct access to the highly experienced Childcare team who utilise bespoke specialist techniques developed through their unique experience, alongside accredited assessment and monitoring tools, in accordance with the Pre-birth to Three documents and Curriculum for Excellence.
Parents are supported to enhance their parenting skills through various parenting interventions (Parents Under Pressure programme will also be embedded into service delivery from 2023). The developments made by those staying with us are monitored using the Family Star tool, which is designed to set realistic, measurable goals and identify progress in key areas.
Facilities
Harper House is non-institutional and inviting. The building is nearing completion following a full refurbishment. They have ensured that it strikes the right balance between feeling homely, inclusive, recovery orientated and safe. Each family has their own large family suite with ensuite wet rooms and access to kitchens, social lounges and accessible bathroom facilities.
There are several communal lounges with TVs and multi-purpose spaces, including a children’s lounge where children can play. The rear of the Harper House has a private, enclosed dedicated play area for the children to enjoy a range of outdoor activities and games. Our large garden space features a dedicated area for on-site Recovery through Nature activities as well as communal spaces perfect for BBQ’s, and a climbing frame and slide for older children.
On site they have:
- 19 large family suites with accessible ensuites
- 2 x 2 bed self-contained apartments
- Large Registered Childrens Day Care Centre
- Modern and bright social, dining and lounge areas
- Additional bathrooms with adaptation equipment/aids to support mobility issues/disabilities
- A lift to all floors
- Accessible garden areas
- IT facilities
- On-site leisure activities
- Conference suite
Awareness Sessions
They have organised the following drop-in session at Harper House, in order to meet the team, learn more about the service and tour the property:
- Friday 26th August 2-3pm
They have also organised the following virtual presentation and Q&A sessions:
- Tuesday 23th August 2-3pm
- Thursday 25th August 10-11am
If you would like to attend a virtual session please register your details via our email inbox: Specialist.Family@phoenixfutures.org.uk
In addition if you would like us to attend any of your local meetings or forums please contact us directly to arrange.
How to make a referral
They can support families from anywhere in Scotland. We have a dedicated Assessment & Referral Team who are happy to discuss any potential referrals and assist with the completion of referral paperwork. Please find attached our Referral Pack.
Specialist Family Service Referral Form July 2022
For further details please email: Specialist.Family@phoenixfutures.org.uk
Placement cost
This service has been developed in partnership with the Scottish Government and therefore there is no cost to Local Authorities or families themselves for the placement at the service.