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Curriculum vitae
Name: Naomi Lonergan.
Job: Manager of XS, young people's drugs service, County Durham.
Qualifications: BA Welfare Studies, DipSW, Diploma in management studies.
Last Job: Development worker, children and substance misuse,  County Durham.
First Job: Children and families project worker, Salvation Army hostel. 

It's easy to stereotype young drug users as people living on the edge who don't care about anything. In reality, many are well-integrated young people living at home and attending school or college. Naomi Lonergan, manager of XS, a drugs service for young people in County Durham explains: "A lot of the young people who come to us do have multiple problems, but for some this is the first time they've been involved with services."

Getting young people to engage with treatment can be an uphill task. Lonergan says: "They have a genuine fear about what will happen. It's an illegal activity - will they get kicked out of school, will someone tell mum and dad? They'll only come if we're seen as credible and if they are confident we won't pass on information to every other service."

When Lonergan was designing XS, she was clear the service had to have its own identity, discrete from any one of the myriad of agencies involved in its commissioning and funding. "We wanted to make sure that young people wouldn't be put off by stigmatising labels. We're a multidisciplinary service commissioned by a multi-agency group. Young people come from lots of different referral routes and for some an association with youth offending or the care system would be unhelpful."

Lonergan also convinced commissioners of the need for independence, so she wouldn't have a dozen different services expecting her to follow their policies and procedures. The service also has its own logo and is exempted from using the Durham Council name on its brochures and letterheads.

She adds: "Having our own identity prevents any one of the major services dominating. It would be very easy for us to become just another part of social services or one of the other statutory agencies."

Every member of the team is managed by Lonergan, although staff have different employers. For example, social workers are employed by social care and health, and nurses by the local primary care trust. "Agencies wanted to hang onto their own staff but I wanted people to be able to say they work for XS. It's important that staff feel part of a team and don't feel divided."

But for Lonergan herself lines of accountability are far from clear. She observes ruefully: "I have too many managers. I answer to a multi-agency steering group which is different from the commissioning group and I also have a manager in social care and health. It was an oversight at the design stage - we never truly thought through where to go for that definitive 'yes'." As a result Lonergan is at times hamstrung by delays in decision-making higher up the chain. "I try to shield the team from all of this, but occasionally I have to be honest so they can understand why things are held up. It can be difficult for staff who have previously worked in hierarchical organisations to grasp that decisions aren't taken in the way they are used to."


Despite these frustrations, Lonergan believes the partnership approach has many advantages. All too often young people with drug and alcohol problems are not picked up by services until their problems are chronic. "There's a shared sense of ownership and our close relationship with so many different agencies means we get referrals at an early stage. We also work assertively, going out to find young people rather than waiting for them to come to us. I receive information from education about where clusters of drug-related referrals are occurring."

Another benefit is shared use of resources. Lonergan says: "We use the premises of our partner agencies - Connexions and youth engagement offices, youth centres and GPs' services. It means we're not tied to particular locations and can provide services where they are needed."

Lonergan finds it is important for her to concentrate on her core business and to avoid getting side-tracked. "Durham is a large county with six districts, each with its own planning arrangements. I'd love to be more involved but there's only one of me. I have to prioritise competing demands and focus on the young people we're supposed to be serving."

TOP TIPS

• Develop a discrete identity so young people can feel confident about using your services.
• Focus on your core business - young people's needs and outcomes. 
• Get lines of accountability clear from the outset. 
  
  RUBBISH TIPS
• Allow one commissioning agency to dominate.
• List all your partners on your brochures and letterhead.
• Think you can keep everyone happy.