Adfam at 40 – Martin Blakebrough: Kaleidoscope, a family endeavour!
In 2024 Adfam celebrated its 40th birthday and over the course of the year we spent time reflecting on the past 40 years and the progress that’s been made in supporting families affected by substance misuse, as well as looking to the future and considering what more needs to be done.
We published a series of articles over the course of the year, speaking to a range of key individuals active in supporting families and those affected by substance use.
We are pleased to release our penultimate ‘Adfam at 40’ article, which features an interview with Martin Blakebrough, CEO of Kaleidoscope. Kaleidoscope is a charity that works across both Wales and England supporting people with drug, alcohol and mental health issues.
Kaleidoscope – very much a family endeavour!
Family plays a huge part in Martin’s story of how he came to become Kaleidoscope CEO. Martin’s father Eric founded the charity in 1968, and both Martin and his sister have since run the charity, making it literally the definition of a family endeavour and one of few charities that remain a family-run organisation!
Kaleidoscope has a fascinating history and was originally based in a church in Kingston upon Thames on Friday evenings, providing a safe space for young people from across all backgrounds and cultural trends, at the height of the late 1960s drugs scene.
Their services grew in popularity and evolved into the 1970s opening a number of new buildings. When Martin was just 13, his family moved into the charity’s hostel in Kingston, and he lived with people that were struggling with drug, alcohol and mental health problems, gaining exposure to the very real challenges people face, an experience he describes as one that has shaped who he is today.
While not having his own lived experience of the issue, the cause has been such an integral part of his life and is what he is most passionate about. Both stopping people dying from drug and alcohol use and enabling people to live the best lives they can, whether that’s with or without drugs, are what drives Martin on every day.
Learning the lessons from Wales in England
In 2002 Kaleidoscope was approached to start a new service in Newport, which became the charity’s new home and since then it has grown to become the largest treatment provider in Wales, offering a range of projects across the country, as well as an in-patient detox unit in the Wirral.
When asked what lessons England can learn from Wales, Martin points to how in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, drugs are viewed as a health issue. In England, coming under jurisdiction of the UK Government, it is seen as a criminal justice issue. He highlights how this is a key problem, and one that leads to so many deaths. By focusing on the issue too heavily through a criminality lens rather than as a health matter it creates a stigma, which results in people struggling to escape the chaos that’s created. In addition, experiences of trauma are often re-triggered by the obsession with putting people, or threatening to put people, in prison. If some of the money spent incarcerating people could instead be diverted to family work, community work and others, Martin feels we could be looking at a different picture. The early release from prisons, Martin suggests, is symptomatic of this and a wider criminal justice system that is struggling to cope with the demands placed upon it.
Another area Martin feels Wales is leading the way is its firm commitment and belief in testing, which is primarily done through Cardiff-based organisation WEDINOS. Martin suggests this is an area where England is also falling behind, and also points to an expensive testing machine in Newport, which is currently not in use without a special Home Office license. Martin feels this adds another layer to an already difficult process which prevents this important work for being carried out. He also points to the need for providing safe places for people to take drugs, rather than on the street. “Nobody wants to be on the street nor take their drugs on the street, but we create a system that causes this, which leads to more deaths and more chaos.”
Overall, Martin argues that Wales adopts a much more benign policy approach towards these issues, as is also the case in Scotland, in comparison to England. However, one area he feels Wales is weaker than England and somewhat behind the curve, is support for families. With a lack of dedicated funding streams available for family support, there are very few systematic programmes to support families in Wales. He points to the closure of many Sure Start centres as Wales with having a damaging effect, and how keeping the support systems for those families is vital to keep families together where possible with children going into care a last resort. The privatisation of children’s homes just shows the lack of will to properly support families.
He calls for a more family-centric approach within Wales and across the UK. There is a lack of women accessing support from treatment services and we need to turn the dial and be better at supporting mothers. Organisations like Adfam are championing the rights of families and the need for family work, which is of huge importance. More of this is needed.
Looking ahead to the future
Martin announced last year that he would be retiring after 25 years as CEO of Kaleidoscope. When asked ‘what’s next?’, Martin responded that he is excited about what lies ahead. He can’t envisage a time when he won’t be championing the cause of people with drug and alcohol problems, and in some ways, retiring frees him up to campaign even more, away from some of the more bureaucratic responsibilities that come with being a CEO! Ultimately, he wants to continue being a force for good in this field in whatever role or shape that is!
“I won’t just duck out of the whole field…I can’t! This is my life. My passion is to help people with drug or alcohol use problems.”
Find out more about Kaleidoscope and the work they do to support people affected by substance use in Wales at: https://kaleidoscope68.org/