Stigma exclusion and access to community capital Realising

Stigma, exclusion and access to community capital: Realising a therapeutic landscape of recovery Professor David Best Sheffield Hallam University / Turning Point

@SHULaw. Crim www. shu. ac. uk/dlc/helena-kennedy-centre The central values of the Centre: - widening access to justice - promotion of human rights - ethics in legal practice - overcoming social injustice - enabling desistance and recovery - promoting criminal justice accountability The Centre has the following goals: - to impact on policy and provide advocacy - to innovate in teaching and education - to produce research and scholarship work - to support local, national and international projects and events

Best and Laudet (2010) Personal Recovery Capital Social Recovery Capital Collective Recovery Capital

Dingle et al (2012): Personal, social and functional growth

Public perceptions of addicts – Phillips and Shaw (2013) • Social distance study using vignettes • Four populations: smokers, obese people, active and recovering addicts • Addicts most discriminated against • US population generally do not believe in ‘recovery’ • This is negative recovery capital, particularly if it is true of professionals

Phillips and Shaw • “Individuals who are actively using substances and even individuals in remission from substance misuse are still targets of significant stigma and social distancing”

Extending the stigma research to trainee professionals • 303 criminal justice and allied health students across all three years at Sheffield Hallam • Liaised with Lindsay Phillips about vignettes • Amended to four new populations active or recovering / desisting: – Heroin addicts – Alcoholics – Violent drinkers – Child offenders

Social distance scores for four key groups 35 31. 2 29. 2 30 26. 9 26. 7 24. 3 25 21 20 18 16. 4 Active Desisting 15 10 5 0 Heroin addicts Alcoholics Violent drinkers Child offenders

Implications • Students do believe in the possibility of change to some extent • However, this is not ubiquitous across all problem behaviours • This does not change much over their period of study • In other words, stereotypes and negative community capital remains intact

An innovative model: Jobs, Friends and Houses • A social enterprise developed by Lancashire Police • Blackpool is an area of significant deprivation and dislocation • Standard treatment pathways but with increased emphasis on prison release (Gateways) • The aim is to build a recovery community

Jobs, Friends and Houses Transforming the building stock in the town Physically building a recovery community Providing a recovery housing pathway Providing meaningful employment and training (8 week Build It Up course then 2 -year apprenticeship) • Increasing the visibility of recovery • Create a sense of collective pride • •

JFH: Visible and recognisable identity

JFH clothing range!

Why is JFH so important? • It is a collective social identity • Participants can buy into the vision and the group dynamic • It provides houses, skills, jobs and pride • There are pathways to ‘real’ jobs • It can engage individuals who have failed and been failed by the treatment system

A Facebook social network map of JFH

Social Identity Model of Recovery (SIMOR)

• Recovery and desistance are social contracts that require personal and social change and community buy-in • Communities can be therapeutic or hostile and get what they give • JFH is a great opportunity to live social justice CONTACTS D. Best@shu. ac. uk David. Best@monash. edu 0114 225 5435