A new report has been published showing how hundreds more people across Blackburn with Darwen are accessing support for alcohol and drug problems, while more people leaving prison are staying connected with recovery services than ever before.
The report, Outcomes don’t happen by accident, looks back on four years of SPARK: Blackburn with Darwen’s recovery partnership, which brings together local organisations to support people affected by substance use.
While the report includes performance data, its main message is simple: people do better when services work together.
Over the last four years, the number of adults accessing treatment has grown from 1,246 to more than 1,550, while the borough has achieved nationally recognised progress in tackling Hepatitis C among people accessing support.
The report also shows how support for people leaving prison has been transformed. Four years ago, around a quarter of people leaving custody engaged with community support after release. Today, nearly nine in ten do.
Behind those figures are stories of local people rebuilding relationships, improving their health, reconnecting with family and finding confidence for the future. The report includes accounts from people who have accessed SPARK services, describing support that helped them make lasting changes in their lives.
Joanna Clarke, Service Manager for SPARK, said:
“Over the past four years we have seen our Collaborative grow from strength to strength and the impact of this is clear in our outcomes and in the voice of those accessing our services. We hear regularly from people that they feel they have choice, which is at the heart of person centred treatment and what we aim to achieve.”
The report also explores what sits behind the results. Rather than asking people to navigate different organisations alone, SPARK brings services together around the person, helping people stay connected to support during some of life’s most difficult moments.
For local residents, the report offers a behind the scenes look at how organisations across Blackburn with Darwen are working together to reduce harm, improve health and help people build safer, healthier futures.
