Josh is an assertive outreach and assessment worker at CDAS. His role takes him across the city - to drop-ins at churches and community spaces, out to meet people where they are, and into conversations with anyone who has questions, concerns, or just needs someone to talk to.
Not every conversation leads to a formal assessment, and that’s not the point. The point is that people get what they need - whether that’s information, a signpost in the right direction, or simply the experience of being heard without judgement. Sometimes that’s enough on its own. Sometimes it’s the beginning of something more. Josh is comfortable with both.
It’s a role that requires patience, the ability to meet people without judgement, and an understanding that trust is something that builds slowly, often across many small conversations.
Josh has a particular instinct for all of that. It comes, in part, from personal experience.
Growing up, Josh watched family members struggle with substance use. He knows what it looks like when people are dealing with something that feels impossible, and there’s nothing local or accessible that was designed with them in mind.
“I didn’t want anyone to go through what I watched my family go through because the support wasn’t there.”
That shaped everything that followed. Even before he joined CDAS, he’d found himself drawn to the kinds of conversations that most people avoid. Working as a barista, he would regularly encounter people who came in for a few minutes of warmth and company.
“I think a lot of people don’t see that side of it, “ he says. “People just wanting to come in and have a chat, and have a bit of support from someone they’d never even met before.”
He recognised something in those interactions. When the opportunity came to move into this kind of work, he took it.
Josh’s days are varied and rarely predictable. The drop-ins he attends across the city draw a wide range of people - some who are experiencing homelessness, some who are curious, some who stop to ask what the service does and leave with a leaflet or a conversation that might, one day, lead somewhere. He finds that energising.
“It’s not all just people in crisis,” he says.
“You get all sorts of members of the community coming up just wanting to know what you do. They might go away and think - actually, I know someone who could benefit from that.”
When Josh meets someone one-to-one, there’s no assumption about where it will lead. He might be there to have a first conversation, to share some information, or simply be present with someone who isn’t ready for anything more structured. The decision about what comes next - if anything - always belongs to the person he’s with.
“It isn’t just about how many people you assess,” he says. “It’s about those small conversations, the little bit by little bit of it. People don’t always jump at it straight away. That’s okay - and that conversation still matters, whatever follows.”
That unhurried approach is important because pressure, even gentle, can undo trust that’s taken a long time to build. Some people need several conversations before they feel ready to take a step. Some just need to know the door is open and that nobody is going to push them through it. Josh has learned to see value in every interaction, regardless of what comes next.
Josh is also honest about the fact that he didn’t always understand this kind of work the way he does now. People close to him have held stigmatising views about substance use. He’s held some of them himself in the past.
“I’ll hold my hands up - I used to think the same way when I was younger, because I didn’t have that education,” he says. “I didn’t know any better.”
What changed his perspective was a combination of things: his family’s experience, the conversations he’d had with people long before this job, and the gradual accumulation of understanding that comes from hearing people's stories. The judgments, he now sees, come from distance. Up close, things look different.
It’s what drives his belief that education matters - not just for people who might need the service one day, but for friends, families and communities. The more people understand about why someone might find themselves struggling, the less likely they are to add to the weight of shame that so often gets in the way of someone asking for help.
“It’s easy to judge when you don’t know much about it. But that stigma is part of what stops people from coming forward. If people had a bit more understanding, they might think twice before making assumptions.”
What keeps Josh going is the moments when things start to change. When someone who seemed hard to reach turns out, with the right approach, to be very reachable indeed. When a person comes back to a drop-in, or shares something they hadn’t told anyone before, or simply says thank you for taking the time. Those moments don’t always look dramatic from the outside. But Josh knows what they mean.
“People just need to feel like we’re here, and like we’re not going to judge them,” he says. “Sometimes that’s all it takes. It doesn’t have to be anything more than that.
If you or someone you know could benefit from support with drugs or alcohol - whether you’re ready to take a step or just want to understand what’s available - we’re here to talk. Call us on 01782 283 113 or come along to our drop-in. Our services are free, confidential, and you don't need a referral.