£2.8 million funding boost to help change lives of disadvantaged people in the city

Stoke-on-Trent has been awarded just under £2.8 million of government funding to help disadvantaged and vulnerable adults improve their life chances.

The money will fund vital work to be carried out through the £55.8 million Changing Futures 2026-2029 programme.

It will directly benefit adults in the city experiencing multiple disadvantages – overlapping challenges like homelessness, substance misuse, mental health issues, domestic abuse and contact with the criminal justice system. These can have a significant impact on individuals, families and communities.

And it transforms how services operate by linking up support across areas such as housing, health, employment and drug misuse.

Stoke-on-Trent is one of 18 locations in the country awarded funding. It will be delivered by the council’s Adult Social Care team through a partnership approach with health partners, housing associations, police, the criminal justice service and the voluntary and community sector.

It will also involve working closely with Experts Citizens – a local community interest company led by, and for, people with lived experience of multiple disadvantages. The expert teams’ specialisms include criminal justice, benefits advice and drug and alcohol misuse.

The aim of the programme is to deliver improvements to individuals and across the wider adult social care network. It aims to:  

• Stabilise and then improve the life situation of adults who face multiple disadvantage  
• Transform local services to provide a person-centred approach and to reduce crisis demand
• Test a different approach to funding, accountability and engagement between local commissioners and services, and between central government and local areas

The new funding will build on the work which has been carried out in Stoke-on-Trent over the last five years - backed by government funding - helping disadvantaged and vulnerable people. This new phase is also seen as a real opportunity to refresh the approach and reinvigorate the work done through the partnership so far.

Councillor Lynn Watkins, cabinet member of adult social care and all age commissioning at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “The award of this funding for the next three years is very good news for many people who find themselves in need of this vital support.

“The fact of the matter is, if adults experience difficulties in getting the coordinated support from local services that they need, this can lead to worsening problems such as greater risk of rough sleeping and ill-health, exploitation or increased reoffending.

“Changing Futures helps to address that by transforming how our services operate and better linking up key areas such as health and employment.”

The Changing Futures programme is being delivered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on behalf of the government, working alongside all relevant departments and the National Lottery Community Fund.