From the 15 June Forward Leeds will begin seeing users of its service face-to-face again.
Forward Leeds, the city’s alcohol and drug service, has been closed to in-person appointments since lockdown began in England. All consultations with just a few exceptions have been over the phone or online.
From Monday 15 June onwards the three hubs in Armley, Seacroft and Kirkgate in the city centre will begin to be open for face-to-face appointments again.
At the bottom of this webpage are three videos showing how the Forward Leeds hubs have been changed to help keep visitors safe.
Operations Director Lee Wilson said: “The first priority is the safety of our clients and staff. We won’t ask anyone to come in for a face-to-face meeting if we think it’s putting them or others at risk. Our staff have been working really effectively with people over the phone and online but that doesn’t work for every client and everyone’s circumstances, so we’re carefully re-introducing in-person meetings.
“We have re-organised the physical spaces in the hubs to make them as safe as possible for visitors. In addition, we have established new processes and procedures to keep everyone as safe as we can. We will be looking to maintain social distance as much as possible and we have a very strict cleaning regime we will be sticking to.”
Lee Wilson of Forward Leeds
The service stresses that people should not call into Forward Leeds outside of an allotted appointment. The service will not be able to accommodate this due to restrictions on numbers in the buildings. People should call the service on 0113 887 2477 or email info@forwardleeds.co.uk if they need any support outside of appointment times.
The group work that Forward Leeds runs will continue to run online only for the time being as there is no way to maintain social distancing and run groups in a physical space at the hubs.
Some clients, such as pregnant women, those living with someone who is self-isolating or those with certain underlying conditions will still continue to have appointments over the phone or online.
5 WAYS to Wellbeing @ the Recovery Academy, the city’s sustained recovery hub for those who are now alcohol or illegal drug free will not be opening right away as almost all of the activities that take place there are of a group nature and social distancing would not be achievable.
Watch our video on the changes we have made at Armley Park Court to keep visitors safe
Watch our video on the changes we have made at our Kirkgate hub in the city centre to keep visitors safe
Watch our video on the changes we have made at our Irford House hub in Seacroft to keep visitors safe