Lessons Learned

1.  everybody is an individual, unique in their own way and must be met where they are at, not where we want them to be or where everybody else is.
2. our Centre is not so-much about ‘doing things’ for people, its about creating an environment where the person can do it themselves. We focus on a persons willingness, motivation and actions to change and to move on.
3. lifestyles, practices and norms cannot be changed over night; a stable, open and supportive approach is needed where behaviours are explored and questioned.
4. focusing on the responsibilities that come with rights and entitlements, is a key component within the Centre. Our responsibilities and obligations to one another preserve our individual rights and freedoms and promote our collective values- this is intrinsically linked to dealing with 'offending behaviour’.
5. access to services and service providers directly by our service users can difficult and problematic - respect is a two way process.
6. single-strategy approaches that focus on just one problem will not be effective because any positive impacts might be threatened due to other risk factors not addressed
7. a multiple agency ‘shared-caring’ support network, with open channels of communication is fundamental to ensuring that individuals are given the best opportunities to meet their goals.