# data[].attributes.body
Sign up to receive updates, news and more...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM) Gloucestershire Registration (Page 1 of 2)

# data[].attributes.body
Our next MEAM Event is being planned and will be our biggest gathering to date! Save the date in your calendar for 30th June 2026. Registration details will be released soon.

# data[].attributes.body
Lived Experience Advisory Group

This will build on existing lived and living experience already influencing the system locally, to embed co-production within MEAM Gloucestershire.

This group will be a space for people with first‑hand experience to provide the MEAM approach in Gloucestershire with advice and expertise to ensure the work is shaped by real lives, not assumptions.

# data[].attributes.body
This means people with several needs can miss out on the support they need.

MEAM Gloucestershire wants to change this.  We are working to encourage services to work together, be flexible and focus on the person as a whole.

MEAM Gloucestershire is not a new service or a referral route. It is a network of organisations, teams and people who want to:

·       Work together

·       Learn from each other

·       Improve how services are able to support adults experiencing several difficult problems at the same time

# data[].attributes.body
These problems include:

·       Mental or physical health problems

·       Trauma

·       Homelessness

·       Addiction

·       Domestic abuse

·       Problems with the criminal justice system

·       Poverty or discrimination

These problems are not the person’s fault. Often, the 'system' is the problem as many services work separately and have strict rules on when they can provide support.

# data[].attributes.headline
2. that result in further difficult experiences...

# data[].attributes.subject
2. that result in further difficult experiences...

# data[].attributes.body
The way these challenges intersect often results in combined experiences of homelessness, substance use, mental ill health, domestic abuse and involvement with the criminal justice system.

# data[].attributes.headline
1. A combination of problems rooted in inequality...

# data[].attributes.subject
1. A combination of problems rooted in inequality...

# data[].attributes.body
People facing multiple disadvantage experience a combination of problems. Often their current circumstances are shaped by long-term experiences of structural inequalities (poverty and deprivation, trauma, abuse, neglect). They may also face discrimination through racism, homophobia and sexism.

# data[].attributes.headline
3. which make it hard to access support, as the system is not designed to look at the whole person.

# data[].attributes.subject
3. which make it hard to access support, as the system is not designed to look at the whole person.

# data[].attributes.body
Multiple disadvantage is recognised as a systemic issue, not an individual issue. People facing multiple disadvantage are often failed by services and systems that are not designed for co-occurring and intersecting needs. This makes it hard for people to access the right support at the right time for them. Which means it is hard for individuals to address their problems, lead fulfilling lives and contribute fully to their communities.

# data[].attributes.body
Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM) is the national charity supporting practitioners, policymakers and people with lived experience to transform services and systems for people facing multiple disadvantage.

It is a coalition of charities, formed in 2009, that works across sectors and across government to improve responses and change lives.

Since January 2025, MEAM has operated as a charity with partners Clinks, Collective Voice, Homeless Link and Mind on the MEAM board.

# data[].attributes.headline
You can read more about MEAM on their website:

# data[].attributes.subject
You can read more about MEAM on their website:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
People facing multiple disadvantage experience a combination of problems including homelessness, substance misuse, contact with the criminal justice system and mental ill health. They fall through the gaps between services and systems, making it harder for them to address their problems and lead fulfilling lives.

# data[].attributes.body
The Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM) Approach is a framework to help local areas develop effective, coordinated services for people facing multiple disadvantage, and promote lasting, embedded change to local systems. In doing so, it brings together statutory and voluntary sectors.

Those adopting the MEAM Approach form a network of fifty local areas, that are increasing individuals’ wellbeing, reducing costs to public services and improving people’s lives.

# data[].attributes.headline
In this video, you can hear about the MEAM Approach from people working in local areas across England.

# data[].attributes.subject
In this video, you can hear about the MEAM Approach from people working in local areas across England.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The MEAM Approach helps local areas across England design and deliver a more coordinated approach to multiple needs including homelessness, substance misuse, contact with the criminal justice system and mental ill health. In this video, we hear from practitioners and people with lived experience of multiple needs about using the MEAM Approach with our support.

# data[].attributes.headline
MEAM Gloucestershire Frequently Asked Questions

# data[].attributes.subject
MEAM Gloucestershire Frequently Asked Questions

# data[].attributes.body
Who is the MEAM coordinator and what do they do?

What is the Cohort?

What new ideas are being developed?

What is a Community of Practice?

What is the Lived Experience Advisory Group?

What is a Learning Loop?

Who has oversight of all of this?

# data[].attributes.headline
Join the MEAM Mighty Network - click here

# data[].attributes.subject
Join the MEAM Mighty Network - click here

# data[].attributes.body
Connect with colleagues across the country working in MEAM Approach areas.

To join the MEAM Mighty Networks online platform (choose the MEAM Approach Network & Changing Futures Member option and Gloucestershire as your network area.

# data[].attributes.body
Community of Practice for Front Line Practitioners

This will be a supportive, peer-led space for those working on the frontline to share good practice, support new ways of working (such as the Team Around Me Approach) and discuss system barriers. The learning from this group will be fed into the wider MEAM work to influence systems change.

Note: this will be launching in autumn 2026.

# data[].attributes.body
Sign up to receive updates, news and more...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM) Gloucestershire Registration (Page 1 of 2)

# data[].attributes.body
Making Every Adult Matter Gloucestershire is a group of organisations working together to help adults who are dealing with several difficult problems (sometimes known as "multiple disadvantage") at the same time. These problems can make life very hard, and they can also make it difficult to get help.

# data[].attributes.body
We will reframe narratives within services and the system, to challenge stigma and discrimination and create cultures of compassionate understanding.

# data[].attributes.body
We can build healthy, thriving and fulfilled communities by harnessing people’s strengths.

# data[].attributes.body
We recognise the impact of trauma on people’s lives and want to create a system that is truly trauma informed/does not re-traumatise.

# data[].attributes.body
We also need to effectively measure impact and change through evaluation methods that value qualitative “stories” data as equal to quantitative “statistical” data.

# data[].attributes.body
We will only be able to address the intersection of disadvantages and inequalities by working together, in partnership and across networks. We need to take a system wide approach at all levels, moving beyond silos and labels, to achieve meaningful change.

# data[].attributes.body
We encourage the voice of people facing multiple disadvantage to be actively involved and at the centre of this work. We recognise that every person has a voice that matters and potential to help improve services, inform policy and strategy and influence systems change.

# data[].attributes.body
Our mission is to improve lives by safeguarding rough sleepers with complex emotional needs, however, we recognise the complexity and constraints of the current system. We aim to work collaboratively to build a reflective system that is influenced by lived and learned experience. We are committed to working together to make changes so that every adult is valued and supported regardless of their circumstances.

# data[].attributes.body
Making Every Adult Matter Gloucestershire’s vision for people experiencing multiple disadvantage is that we create a flexible system where barriers are broken down; where the system is coordinated and can be shaped by a person’s strengths, meaning every adult is empowered to access the support they need to thrive.