Friday/16/Nov 2007 Filed in:
CommentaryThere's a conference being advertised at the moment looking at Complex Needs in Drugs and Alcohol. Complex needs, the organisers tell us, are the needs of a someone in treatment to have access to employment, housing, or healthcare and they'll be a key focus for drug and alcohol providers in the next drug strategy.
This is not a definition of complex needs that I've ever heard before. Most usually "Complex Needs" refers to people with multiple disabilities or a profound depth of need relating to a primary condition. While I am willing to accept that someone who uses drugs may have more difficulty in accessing housing or employment or primary healthcare than someone who doesn't use drugs I don't think that this means that their need for housing or employment or primary healthcare is complex. Surely housing and employment and healthcare are basic needs that mainstream services should be capable of satisfying? Read More...Tags: Complex Needs, Service access, exclusion, employment, primary healthcare, reintegration