“Our aim at Oasis Partnership is to give every individual and family as much support as possible to recover from their addictions" - Colin McGregor-Paterson, CEO
Oasis Partnership is a small charity, working in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. They provide support to people experiencing problems with their own or someone else's drug or alcohol use and have been providing quality services to the Buckinghamshire region for over 35 years.
The charity offers a structured treatment and recovery service in partnership with Inclusion NHS - this offers clinical, pharmacological and psychosocial interventions on an individual and on a group basis. They also support individuals on release from prison, and help them and the families of ex-prisoners get back into work or education.
Oasis Partnership also offers support to families affected by drug, alcohol and addiction issues, working with the children in bespoke support programmes. These programmes are designed to help children and younger members of the family to steer clear of drugs and alcohol themselves.
Oasis Partnership and In Kind Direct
“In Kind Direct has made a real difference to us. Without In Kind Direct our expenditure would increase by 75% and we would have to cut or reduce the very valuable and life changing courses or projects we run. We are a lifesaver, literally, for many of our service users and families.”
Oasis Partnership orders a wide variety of products from In Kind Direct, both to help run the three main centres (Wycombe, Chesham and Aylesbury) and gift to the many people that use their vital services. Products include household goods and cleaning products, toiletries, office supplies and toys. The charity operates a large number of bespoke programmes helping a broad spectrum of ages. Most products are used at its day centre in the office, kitchen and recovery café; a safe and secure place where service users can mix with other clients between recovery sessions and workshops.
“Our aim at Oasis is to give every individual and family as much support as possible to recover from their addictions. The smallest thing can make a huge difference and make someone feel valued. Some personal care items and some chocolates can make an ex-prisoner or homeless person feel both valued and normal, we wouldn’t be able to afford to do this without In Kind Direct's support.”
'How a can of Dog Food changed my life'
Oasis Partnership recently extended their recovery programmes to help homeless people on the street. Colin McGregor-Paterson, CEO explained:
“We started ordering dog food from In Kind Direct and we had a creative plan to use it. Rough sleepers are often very suspicious of authorities and we had to work out how to get them to our centres, and signed up to our drug/alcohol programmes. Dog food was the incentive.”
The Oasis Partnership programme involved offering rough sleepers with a dog, a week’s supply of dog food. Giving out a weekly supply ensured that they would have to come back regularly for more. Each time they returned they built on the relationship with them, mainly by getting volunteers who had experienced homelessness themselves to talk to them. Over time, people came to trust the staff at Oasis, and this programme helped many people on the first step towards getting into employment and secure housing. One rough sleeper and his dog have now been housed. He is doing well in his recovery and is looking at gaining employment sometime soon, and his dog seems very happy. And all thanks to a can of dog food!