Wolverhampton YMCA's Community Drug Rehabilitation project is "The Bridge" which is based in Temple Street, a few minutes walk from Wolverhampton City Centre.

The Bridge is commissioned by the Safer Wolverhampton Partnership to provide a range of services for drug users, families and others affected by someone else’s drug use. It has been part of Wolverhampton Drug Services for 9 years, and has developed over this period to meet the ever changing and evolving needs of our client group.

Due to the complex nature of addiction, it is vital that we match our clients with the particular combination of treatment approaches that best meet their needs. Our experience has shown that imposing unwanted treatments is likely to lead to resistance and poor compliance, and therefore, our dedicated team of professionals, from a variety of disciplines, works closely with clients to identify their specific needs. We will assist clients to identify key problem areas of their life, for example, substance misuse, housing, finances and much more. Staff and clients work in partnership to formulate a care plan which will help them identify small, achievable goals, which will ultimately lead to a more productive and healthy lifestyle. 

In the delivery of alcohol and substance misuse treatment, a number of interventions are employed including:

Counselling: Resolve conscious conflicts with the focus on setting goals and problem solving. A wide variety of techniques may be used including verbal communication. Counsellors assist the client to focus on constructive behaviours which will help the client reach specific goals. All done in a safe non-judgemental environment.

Structured Day Programme: this encompasses all aspects of drug use including understanding reasons why individuals use drugs.  It also looks at methods people can adopt in order to break the cycle of their drug use and how they can identify these triggers and put coping strategies in place.  It looks at how a person’s own behaviour, relationships and life choices can be adapted in order that they can move on and create a new chapter in their life.

Complementary Therapies - provide a safe environment for drug users to help to learn to relax amd find a natural alternative to drugs. Addressing physical and emotional needs, the treatments help to reduce harm to the body and mind and help with specific side effects to the drugs. Complementary therapies appeal to all drug users who wish to learn to how to cope with reducing drug use and symptoms of drugs and help to improve sleep, memory, concentration, detox, self esteem and confidence and reduce anger, depression and boredom.

The following pages set out the scope of our services and hopefully also illustrate the commitment of our staff to helping people change their lives.