Haven: a peer-led community support service

A drop-in support service

Opened in October 2019, Haven supported more than 10,000 visitors in its first year.

Initially funded by the Ministry of Health’s Acute Drug Harm Response Discretionary Fund, and with support from Auckland DHB, Haven is a peer-led, weekend drop-in space delivered in partnership by Odyssey, Lifewise, and Mind and Body.

Peer support workers from each organisation are on hand to support visitors, who may be experiencing distress from substance use, or who may need a safe, warm space to reduce an immediate crisis, or to feel less isolated.

Prior to the first lockdown in 2020, Haven recorded around 200 visits each weekend.  Since mid-2020, numbers have steadily risen to around 450 visits most weekends.

Findings from an early evaluation showed that Haven was meeting a continuum of needs. Outcomes for visitors included improved personal safety; increased avenues for support; improved mental health/emotional wellbeing; improved social connections; and reduced involvement in criminal activity. For the peer workforce, outcomes included personal learning and development; improved self-worth; strengthened whānau connections; and extended employment opportunities.

The research also identified a range of success factors. These included the peer workforce model and employing peer workers with a range of lived experiences. It was noted that training and supervision was crucial to ensure peers from different organisations were working to a similar skill level and were equipped to deal with visitors’ presenting issues.

Other success factors included the mix of expertise from each partner organisation; a shared vision; an openness to trialling new ways of doing things; the calibre of staff involved; and the level of funding available for the project.

Find out more by contacting comms@odyssey.org.nz