There are an estimated 60,000 adults across the UK with a combination of problems, such as homelessness, substance misuse, mental ill health and offending. These individuals are often poorly served by agencies used to dealing with one problem at a time and as a result fall through the gaps in provision at considerable cost to themselves and to wider society. There is potential for great impact on their lives and public spending through devising and scaling ways to coordinate services in local areas to respond to people’s multiple needs.

The Foundation’s aim under this initiative has been to improve the quality and coherence of services for individuals facing multiple needs and exclusions.

For the past number of years, we have supported Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM) – a coalition formed by Clinks, DrugScope, Homeless Link and Mind – to ensure that in every local area people with multiple needs are supported by effective, coordinated services and empowered to tackle their problems.