Everyone in the Barod family is important in making a difference.
We have around 200 staff and volunteers helping to make Barod’s services run smoothly and effectively.
Here are just a few of our paid and voluntary staff from across the organisation.
What are your areas of special interest / particular skills?
Advocating and safeguarding young people. I’ve worked with children and young people for almost 10 years from an educational setting, local authority youth service and Children’s rights and participation team. I have learned new skills within each aspect of this time and use this within my everyday role at Barod. I’m passionate about ensuring young people have their voices heard and breaking down the stigma behind substance use. Promoting clearer understandings of reasons why some might use and using appropriate language is a skill I regularly promote and happily share with other professionals.
What do you enjoy most about your role with Barod?
Each day is very different. I could be providing 1-1 support for individuals following the harm reduction model in the morning, moving on to a group session in school then attending regular child safeguarding strategy meetings the next. I enjoy variety because it keeps me on my toes and tests my organisational skills! I also enjoy the teams I support. Having staff across all teams with a range of individual skills and knowledge promotes our passion for supporting others.
What is it like to work in your area of Wales or in your specific service?
Swansea = BUSY! No day is the same. The Swansea service pace is always changing. We have a strong, passionate team of staff that are always hands on and ready to provide support whether that be over the phone, drop in or via other methods of contact. Being in the center of Swansea is always ideal as it provides easy access for most. It can be pretty loud here too sometimes!
Please tell us about your average day.
What is average? As the young person’s team leader, I enjoy variety and having different things scheduled in every day. No day is an average day in Swansea. I’m passionate about supporting young people, providing training to external professionals, and finding new ways of working with some of our most vulnerable. We are a team that could be speaking to a year group in the morning then providing outreach in the evening. We love variety. Supporting the team is a key aspect of my role and fulfilling when hearing positive feedback from other professionals.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Be who you needed when you were younger.
What are your areas of special interest / particular skills?
I am very passionate about service user involvement and getting the people that we support involved with the service that we provide. I believe that we can provide a valuable stepping stone for individuals by encouraging them to try new things, in a safe environment, that can allow them to flourish in their life beyond DDAS.
What do you enjoy most about your role with Barod?
Working with people and the variety that it brings. We encounter such a wide and diverse cross-section of society, we as workers are able to learn so much about our service users’ experiences that can help us to better understand and develop as workers. They are, after all, the experts.
What is it like to work in your area of Wales or in your specific service?
Working across Carmarthenshire again opens a window to a huge array of life. We work with people from urban hubs such as Llanelli and Carmarthen and also people who live in very small, rural communities. I started working here in September 2020 whilst there were still many restrictions in place and it’s been great to see Llanelli Town Centre return to the lovely little town that is, full of hustle and bustle.
Please tell us about your average day.
An average day for me working remotely will consist of a number of telephone appointments with service users throughout the day. I will also have time writing up case notes and liaising with complimentary services to try to support the individuals that I work with as best as possible. Essentially though, there is no average day. Once that mobile phone and laptop go on, we could be presented with anything, and that’s what keeps this job enjoyable.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
If you keep looking behind you, you will eventually trip up!
What are your areas of special interest / particular skills?
Partnership working, community safety/engagement, BAROD staff rep Chair and coffee shops. Lots of coffee shops.
What do you enjoy most about your role with Barod?
Educating professionals, carers and clients alike on the issues facing our service users and concerned others and focusing on how we can be most effective to do all we can improve their lives.
Also, managing a successful and committed team who deliver real change to those in our care is the absolute best feeling.
What is it like to work in your area of Wales or in your specific service?
It is a challenge leading a small team in a very large rural county. However, COVID has brought some great benefits to this, like remote working, digital assessments, live webchat, paperless systems and social media service developments.
Please tell us about your average day.
Firstly I make sure I turn my work mobile on early in case one of my team have any issues, prioritise my to-do-list actions and plan my schedule for the day, provide any information/reminders for service priorities and staff for the days’ events ahead, make sure I have seen and allocated any new referrals coming in, prep for meetings for that day – whether they are weekly team meeting, partnership meeting, complex case meeting, case reviews, MARAC Daily Discussions meeting, Tension Monitoring meeting, staff supervision meeting etc… take case queries from staff, liaise with other managers on service/building issues, lead on any safeguarding or high risk actions and ensure I get time for a break and a walk every day!
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
“Treat people how you would expect to be treated yourself”
What are your areas of special interest / particular skills?
The needle exchange, I am also Needle Exchange Champion in Carmarthenshire. Partnership working, I love getting to know local support services and building relationships to further support service user needs.
What do you enjoy most about your role with Barod?
No day is the same. I really enjoy listening and getting to know service user and their story. The resilience and strength our service users have blows my mind.
What is it like to work in your area of Wales or in your specific service?
Working in Dyfed/ Carmarthenshire we are in a real rural part of Wales. One minute you could be working in Llanelli then the next minute you are called to drop off naloxone the other end of Carmarthenshire 30 miles away.
Please tell us about your average day.
Sleep, eat, casework.. repeat!
My average day consists of supporting individuals to make steps and progress towards their short and long-term goals. I also support concerned others and work in the DDAS needle exchange 1-2 times weekly. You will often find me conducting local needle picks, in the fresh air, interacting with members of the public around Llanelli Town Centre.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
“Yesterday is heavy, put it down”
What are your areas of special interest / particular skills?
Safer injecting has always been a special interest of mine, I am passionate about educating service users about how to inject safely and I also deliver the safer injecting training to new starters within DDAS. I also have a special interest in working with female opiate users with complex needs.
What do you enjoy most about your role with Barod?
My role as an Active Treatment Worker allows me to work with service users long-term, supporting them from the beginning of their recovery journey right the way through to them achieving their treatment goals. Seeing service users reach their treatment goal is 100% the best part of my role.
What is it like to work in your area of Wales or in your specific service?
I work for DDAS which covers Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, I might be biased but I think it’s beautiful part of the world! The DDAS service covers a large geographical area, and a lot of our service users live in rural areas with limited public transport which can be challenging for them. As a service I feel we are quite innovative and try to find ways around this to ensure that everyone can access our support.
Please tell us about your average day.
Every day is different which is one of the things I love most about my role. My typical day usually involves a mixture of assessment and follow up appointments with service users. I might also staff the needle exchange, issue Naloxone kits and complete DBST’s to test for BBV’s.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
“Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day”
Some days are tough but there will always be a positive in there somewhere.
What are your areas of special interest / particular skills?
I manage the Social Enterprise Café which helps people in recovery to reconnect with their community. We support our volunteers to engage in on-the-job learning in the café. We provide certified qualifications and employability skills in a safe working environment. The café also supports local people who suffer with isolation, food poverty, homelessness and mental illnesses.
What do you enjoy most about your role with Barod?
There are too many things to mention. I enjoy being part of a cohort of dedicated teams, all with the same mindset. I love helping people in my community to walk a little taller and being a small part of a person’s journey into employment or inclusion.
What is it like to work in your area of Wales or in your specific service?
I am lucky enough to be able to walk to work, so am very passionate about my community and the people who live in it. Being able to influence change in this area is fantastic. The service we provide is quite unique as it is the final piece in the puzzle when it comes to fitting in to societies and becoming part of the workforce. Seeing the confidence build in someone from when the first arrive in the Café is the most rewarding part of this job. Building resilience and breaking down barriers is when you begin to see the volunteers to flourish.
Please tell us about your average day.
As soon as the Café opens we have a flow of customers wanting a cuppa and a chat. The volunteers will learn how to cook basic meals and cakes, use the coffee machine and tills and provide a high level of customer service. I manage all day to day activities included in running the café, but my job also includes liaising with referrers onto our program, attending third sector meetings and seeking places of employment for our volunteers to move into. I help with CV’s, interview preparation, job searching and general confidence building to prepare them for their next steps when they are ready.
I also arrange the volunteer and staff development and learning. I apply for grants and funding opportunities and see what is happening in the community so that we can be a part of.
No two days are the same here in Café Tyfu, and I think that is what makes this job so interesting.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
‘Never judge someone unless you have walked in their shoes’
Always try to find the good in someone and try to help them to see it too.
What are your areas of special interest / particular skills?
I have a passion for all things harm reduction. I enjoy developing and implementing innovative ways of getting harm reduction interventions and information out there. I have a particular special interest in needle exchange services and safer injecting – I started my substance misuse career as a volunteer in a needle exchange in Bath and fell in love with the work from day 1. I am also keen to screen as many people as we can for alcohol related brain damage. I am proactive in the reducing drug and alcohol related death agendas too.
What do you enjoy most about your role with Barod?
As a manager, I am in a privileged position where I can lead on influencing change. Barod is an organisation that doesn’t shy away from difficult or controversial topics and is happy to challenge the status quo if it means that it improves what we can offer for our service users. I love being part of a forward thinking organisation that is constantly innovating. As a feminist, I also enjoy working for an organisation that does not have a gender pay gap and have women as well as men in senior management positions.
What is it like to work in your area of Wales or in your specific service?
My role covers all our service delivery areas across Wales. I live in Dyfed which is a really rural part of Wales with the counties of Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion covering very large geographical areas which is challenges when delivering services. We also have other areas such as Newport and Llanelli that are far more urban. We deliver services in areas that have high poverty and are considered economically deprived so it means we have to be adaptable, flexible and manage our time well.
Please tell us about your average day.
I’m not sure an average day exists in Barod and this is one of the things I love about my job – every day is different. I could be in a different location, working with different people and audiences doing very different tasks from morning to the afternoon. One thing that is consistent is that my role requires an emphasis on quality management and a love of working and serving our communities which keeps me motivated.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
I try to remember in my daily work something our CEO advised me on a few years ago and that is that “Assumptions make an ass out of u and me”. I have learnt to never assume anything with service users or staff – it’s important that people can tell their own story without pre-judgements or other people making assumptions about their situation. The other thing I live and work by is to always do the right thing even when nobody is looking which my grandmother taught me as a child.
What are your areas of special interest / particular skills?
My area of special interest is children safeguarding. I am currently a safeguarding lead for GDAS within the North, Blaenau Gwent area.
What do you enjoy most about your role with Barod?
Variety! There is so much to get involved in when working with Barod. I’ve covered a few roles in the 12 years i’ve been working with Barod. Outreach, probation, alcohol caseworker, GOALS caseworker to name a few. There’s always a new challenge that keeps me fresh and i’m always learning new skills. The staff are all great too.
What is it like to work in your area of Wales or in your specific service?
I work at present as part of a consortium called the Gwent Drug and Alcohol Service in Blaenau Gwent. It’s such a rewarding and fulfilling job to be able to work every day, helping other people. It’s great that Blaenau Gwent has this service in the area.
Please tell us about your average day.
An average day for me would be travelling between the two Blaenau Gwent bases to see clients. I also work in the needle exchange at both premises giving out paraphernalia to clients. Within the working week I will often attend safeguarding type meetings which I particularly enjoy.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Learn from the clients! The clients have all the experience when it comes to substance. We can learn a great deal from them if we listen.
Caroline is Barod’s CEO and has been with Barod since 1999. She covers the whole of Barod’s ‘patch’ and has her finger firmly on the pulse of what’s going on in the field of Substance Misuse. She is the Chair of the Advisory Panel On Substance Misuse (APOSM) and an active member of Delivering a Caring Wales (DACW).
Here is Caroline to tell you more about her work
What are your areas of special interest?
I really enjoy all that my role entails, ensuring we deliver excellent services to the people who use our services. It is important to me that all staff are supported trained and competent and that teams are manged well. I am particularly interested in strategic vision, policy development both locally and nationally. We can influence policy to make a difference not just for people using our service but for all citizens.
What do you enjoy most about your role with Barod?
My role is very varied and interesting. As with any job there are some things that you like more than others. I particularly like seeing staff grow into their role and progress through the organisation. I also really like encouraging new ideas and supporting innovative approaches in our work. Seeing us supporting people who use our service to make positive changes in their lives has made me happy throughout the (nearly) 20 years I have worked for Barod. This after al is what we are all here for.
What is it like to work in your area of Wales or in your specific service?
As I cover the whole of the area we deliver services in, it varies from region to region. However, I have developed and encyclopaedic knowledge of the parts of Wales where we deliver services! Each area and service are unique, but what is constant is the commitment and passion of our staff to do the best that they can for people who use our services.
Please tell us about your average day.
There isn’t one!! I could be in strategic meetings, meeting commissioners, attending or speaking at conferences, writing reports, answering emails, meeting with our directors, meeting with partners, thinking of new ideas and innovations, the list goes on! However, whether its before or after work, I will always walk my dog!
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
You have two ears and one mouth – use them proportionately
What are your areas of special interest?
My areas of special interest are Psychotherapy, specifically CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), as this is what I am currently studying. I am currently undertaking my MSc in CBT Psychotherapy and intend on completing my DPsych in Counselling Psychology. This is an area of special interest for me, as I find it fascinating how CBT can help an individual manage their problems by changing the way they think and behave.
What do you enjoy most about your role with Barod?
What I enjoy most about my role with Barod is how I can build positive relationships with service users, other organisations by networking and venturing into different areas of Gwent, as I cover Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen and Caerphilly.
What is it like to work in your area of Wales or in your specific service?
Working in my areas, and for the Cyfle Cymru Gwent team, is amazing. It is very rewarding as we provide a peer mentoring service for those who are out of work and suffer from mental health problems and/or substance misuse. I work with 16-24 year olds who are currently not in education or employment and 25+ (year old) clients who are either long term unemployed or economically inactive. Our end goal when working with these individuals is to help them overcome any barriers that they feel are in the way of them gaining employment or going into further education.
Please tell us about your average day.
Each day is different but the average day consists of 1:1 appointments with clients, contacting clients, workshops, activities, assessments and networking with different organisations. I also run a gaming session for clients on the PS4 every Wednesday which is cool.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Knowledge is power.
Jamie is the Service Manager for Barod’s Swansea Services and has been with Barod since 2006. His remit covers adult, families and young persons services and he uses his passion for harm reduction to help drive these services forward.
Here’s Jamie, to tell you more about his work
i enjoy providing operational leadership to services within our Barod Swansea services, offering interventions to a wide range of service-users from adults, concerned others and children and young people, and their families. I’ve worked for many years within a community setting, both in the voluntary and statutory sector with experience of working with drug users in many communities, families in crisis, needle exchange, crisis intervention, homelessness, supported accommodation, anti-social behaviour, primary health care, and adults with mental health issues. More recently, my focus has been developing treatment responses to new drugs trends and stimulant drugs.
I enjoy many aspects of my role, but, most significantly for me is the enjoyment I have in building positive relationships with our service users, communities and partners, championing the harm reduction message and cause.
The Swansea service operates at a fast and ever-changing pace, never one day is the same! The team here in Swansea are so adaptable and can use their knowledge, experience and diverse expertise to fight against exclusion, enabling drug using individuals and communities to develop their skills and capacity for potential change and recovery. Delivering the service, respecting the autonomy of the communities we work with, facilitating & supporting them with their drug and alcohol needs. Its great to be working with a team driven by and committed to the development of evidence that endorses or critically advances knowledge of the harm reduction working approach.
Every day is so different! Some days you could be working with policy-makers, programme implementers, service providers and drug users and drug using groups. But, always supporting the adoption of models of community mobilisation, harm reduction and drug treatment with people who use drugs and alcohol. All the above can take place on a local and a national level to promote the work we do here at Barod. I loves it! 😊
“If you want something done, ask someone who’s busy!”
Fiona has been with Barod since 2010, working with service users in Gwent. She has a passion for service user-led treatment and a wealth of knowledge that helps her to best support her service users, including BBVs, domestic abuse and safeguarding.
Here’s Fiona to tell you more about her work
What are your areas of special interest / particular skills?
I mostly work with opiate users. As well as heroin, opiate use includes people with problematic opioid painkiller habits including tramadol and codeine. Opiate users suffer both physical and psychological withdrawals, they can be prescribed substitute opiate medication such as methadone or buprenorphine and treatment can take many months. As an active treatment worker I case manage and provide psycho-social interventions such as motivational interviewing and the community reinforcement approach and I work closely with a clinical team consisting of doctors, nurses and health promotion worker. My areas of special interest are safeguarding and blood borne virus testing. I enjoy supporting service users with complex needs which can include children’s services involvement, homelessness, domestic abuse, undiagnosed mental health concerns, chaotic intravenous drug use and possible blood borne virus infection. This means multi agency working with social services, housing agencies, domestic violence agencies, police and health services. I have previously been employed by Action for Children and Women’s Aid, and have also worked with people with disabilities so I have a lot of experience in supporting families. I sit on the Blaenau Gwent MARAC (Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference for high risk domestic abuse cases) and am a safeguarding lead for the area. I am also a blood borne virus lead and regularly dry blood spot test service users for viruses such as hepatitis and HIV. I think my strength lies in providing effective one to one work with service users, helping to build positive therapeutic relationships to enable them to move forward in their treatment and onto full recovery.
What do you enjoy most about your role with Barod?
That’s an easy answer for me – direct work with service users! I joined Barod (then Drugaid) in November 2010 on a 6 month maternity cover contract and never left. Initially based in Torfaen, I transferred to Blaenau Gwent in October 2011 and particularly like working in this geographical area, even though the county is classed as having one of the highest rates of deprivation in Wales. I have a caseload of over 40 service users who tend to be very straight talking so I definitely need to keep a sense of humour! I am fortunate to work as part of an incredibly dedicated and professional staff team, both from Barod and the partner agencies who make up GDAS, all of whom have a wealth of skills and understanding of our service users and the issues they face. It is not an easy field of work but Barod have always been keen to support staff, providing a wide range of training and encouraging development throughout the organisation.
What is it like to work in your area of Wales or in your specific service?
GDAS is a large service covering the whole of Gwent. It is divided into North and South teams and provides treatment for drugs, alcohol and family support as well as a recovery strand providing a range of therapeutic groups and diversionary activities. GDAS also has a service to support service users involved in the criminal justice system called IRIS. GDAS is run by a consortium made up of Barod, Kaleidoscope and G4S. It’s a very busy service staffed by a Single Point of Contact (SPOC) telephone number and has been in place since 2015 and prior to this amalgamation many of the staff worked in the previous services offering substance misuse treatment throughout Gwent. There is a lot of substance use and a current waiting list for substitute opiate prescribing. The role can in turn be both rewarding and frustrating but overall I think most of the staff would agree that there is a sense of achievement in knowing that you have worked hard for your service users and tried to help them to move forward in their recovery. Everyone who refers to GDAS wants to make changes and to be happier in their lives and I genuinely believe we offer that opportunity.
Please tell us about your average day.
There is no such thing as an average day, that’s what makes the role so interesting. Our service users often lead such chaotic lives that, although I plan my appointments and therapeutic tools and approaches, if someone has relapsed or is in crisis then the day may turn out very differently than I expected! On average, I try to see 5-6 service users per day which should allow time for recording and paperwork. Appointments include assessing service users, care planning, providing prenoxad training (which can reverse the effects of an opiate overdose), discussing reduction plans and relapse prevention. There’s lots of paperwork which includes case notes, appointment letters, report writing and letters of support so I carry my laptop with me always. I am based in Tredegar but also see service users in our Ebbw Vale and Rhymney buildings. I attend doctor’s clinics and MARAC fortnightly, I attend social services or other external meetings most weeks and also travel to other offices throughout South Wales to training and team meetings.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
When I first started to work in substance misuse my manager told me “If you’re not sure of something a service user tells you then ask them to explain, people never mind”. And it’s very true, people often like talking about themselves and, unfortunately for my service users, drugs are their area of expertise. I feel I’ve learned far more from my service users about what it’s like to have a drug problem, to be homeless, to have your children removed or even to have contracted a virus such as hepatitis than could ever be obtained from training or books alone. Everyone’s story is different as every person is different and it’s positive that people trust me and allow me to be part of their recovery.
What are your areas of special interest?
Transition cases and mental health of young people
What do you enjoy most about your role with Barod?
Engaging with young people and seeing them develop and move forward in their recovery.
What is it like to work in your area of Wales or in your specific service?
It can be remote and challenging it is usually busy but it is rewarding and you are never far from lovely views/beaches.
Please tell us about your average day.
At the moment things are obviously strange as I am working from home, I will generally have a few appointments/meetings/webchat/a catch up with the team and will make sure that I get away from the laptop for a short while and go up to the garden.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
The less you talk the more you hear. So when I am with service users I just let them talk as much as they need to, you gain a lot more insight in to their lives and issues that way.
James works in our Aberystwyth and Cardigan offices and has been with Barod since 2016. James has a passion for providing service user-led services and is a Welsh speaker and advocate for Welsh language and culture.
Here is James to tell you more about his work
What are your areas of special interest?
Drop in, Foodbank, Shiny Data, ‘Yr Iaith ar Waith’, Single Point of Contact Telephone and Emails
What do you enjoy most about your role with Barod?
Seeing people come in through the doors glowing with wellness
What is it like to work in your area of Wales or in your specific service?
Aberystwyth and Cardigan are close knit communities in a truly beautiful part of the world. However, I find the misery around substance misuse is in sharp relief to the lovely surroundings. Our service users have to make very long journeys to access our services, and the commitment this requires to make change is often considerable.
Please tell us about your average day.
During my typical workday, I’ll open up reception, the drop in and the needle exchange and check the toilets have toilet paper. Then it’s open the door and greet our service users as they arrive for appointments or to access the drop in or other services. I am responsible for answering the Dyfed Drug and Alcohol Service SPOC telephone – typically I’ll be advising service users to come to Open Access or taking referrals in between asking staff to look in the cupboard by the loo for more toilet rolls. Around the SPOC calls I’ll be on Palbase processing referrals and initial assessments for the Generic Service and for Criminal Justice, suggesting that staff check in the cupboard under the stairs for toilet paper and going through the Keyworker Report, improving the data quality. After lunch, I’ll be minuting the weekly Partnership Meeting with CDAT and Social Service, then it’s back to unlocking the Admin cupboard to issue the emergency four pack of Andrex, and process the waiting list for our Floating Support Supporting People Service), unique to Ceredigion within Barod. After a cup of tea, it’s time to fire up our purchasing system, Turbine, to request authorisation to buy 144 rolls of toilet paper for tomorrow, complete a petty cash return and after a final phone call from my boss in our Cardigan office, informing me that they have run out of tissues in the meeting rooms it’s time to close up, happy in the knowledge that the service has run smoothly.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Unasked for advice, James, is often seen as interference…
