Recruitment of a full-time fundraiser to support the charity’s future projects


Just Say It! Event hosted by DHI. The Egg theatre. Bath.

1996 – Originally called the Drugs & Homeless Initiative, DHI was set up by Bath Self Help Housing Association with one member of staff – chief executive Rosie Phillips – and one supported dry house.
1999 – DHI became a stand alone charity and within a year had been awarded a Department of Health Social Care Award for ‘Promoting Independence’.
2001 – DHI launched a new service, delivering housing support in Bath & North East Somerset and extending into Wiltshire the following year.
2004 – DHI opened two new supported dry houses, Barton Buildings in Bath and Acorn House in Wiltshire.
2010 – DHI named changed to Developing Health & Independence.
2011 – The Beehive treatment centre in Bath, the Midsomer Norton Recovery Hub and Burlington House, a supported dry house and community detox facility in Bath, all open in one year.
2012 – Project 28, a drug and alcohol service for young people in B&NES launched as well as a social enterprise lettings agency, Home Turf Lettings.
2014 – DHI began delivering Motiv8, a young people’s drug and alcohol service in Wiltshire.
2017 – DHI started to run the full South Gloucestershire drug and alcohol service
2018 – The Community Recovery service opened in Bristol
2019 – DHI celebrated 20th birthday with the Vision Project looking at how to resolve some of the biggest challenges in society over the next 20 years.

Project: Recruitment of a full-time fundraiser to support the charity’s future projects

Grants: £75,000 over three years from 2015

Key achievements:

  • Within two years the fundraiser had secured £581,160 – seven times the value of the original grant
  • £35,000 raised for Housing First, a project providing housing for homeless people
  • £190,000 raised from Children in Need to support work with young people

With a three-year grant from the Medlock Charitable Trust, Developing Health and Independence (DHI) recruited a full-time fundraiser in 2015.

The charity, which supports disadvantaged people across Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) particularly those with problems related to drugs, alcohol and homelessness to live independently, was under pressure to diversify its income sources. DHI needed to raise funds to secure the future of a series of vital projects.

Within two years of her appointment, the new fundraiser Ricarda Todd had helped DHI raise £581,160, seven times the original value of the three-year grant supporting her salary.

Through her hard work the DHI was able to secure funding for initiatives including:

£270,160 raised to support key DHI activities which will improve the lives of 300 additional adults and young people every year

£35,000 was secured from the St John’s Foundation for the Housing First project which provided homes for people living on the streets.

£133,800 raised to match fund the purchase a property on Burlington Street in Bath which houses the supported dry house and detox and rehabilitation facility – the Medlock Charitable Trust donated an additional £10,000 towards this appeal.

£94,000 over three years secured from Children in Need for work with young people, with a further grant of £96,000 awarded in 2020.

£37,500 over three years secured from the Nisbet Trust to help DHI’s social lettings agency, Home Turf Lettings increase its provision of homes to disadvantaged people.

£235,000 grants secured in 2016 then 2019 from the St John’s Foundation for the ‘Resolve to Stop the Violence’ project working with perpetrators of domestic violence

DHI has helped more than 40,000 people since its small beginnings 20 years ago. In 2018 alone, 235 people were housed through its supported housing scheme while its drug and alcohol services accessed by 1 in 96 adults in the South West in 2018.