Remar UK - what are your thoughts?

[Draggletail]

Originally posted by libuse

Remar are a Portuguese charity who believe that they rehabilitate people from substance dependency. Primarily supporting Portuguese people, they do support British and other nationalities as well. When they support people who have a home base in the UK, they move them to a Remar project some distance from their home base. Their belief is that you must break the individual from everything that they know, as their family bonds etc. were part of their life as a dependent substance user. In order to ensure that they do this effectively they withhold the individual's benefit book/other means of self support, they accompany them to statutory and health appointments to ensure the person is not in a position to discuss with professionals the support they recieve from Remar, and they ensure that the person's daily life is filled with work. Particularly they do not believe in drug assisted withdrawals from substances of addiction and therefore would not support someone in accessing medication which would help them deal with the pain of withdrawal, or block future cravings.

In my past life I have worked with around 15-20 people who

came to Sheffield due to support offered by Remar, and based on my experience I certainly wouldn't be purchasing their gardening/removal/whatever services.

 

Thanks libuse.

 

Do you know of anything regards policy of people once they are 'rehabilitated' and over their addiction?

Are they encouraged to go 'out into the big wide world' and get a life?

Or do they stay and live with/work for Remar?

[LordChaverly]

I got into a conversation with the Remar staff in the Abbeeydale road shop and they said they were from Portugal. I thought this was a little strange at the time, but all is now revealed by libuse, i.e. Remar are a Portuguese charity. The other thing I noticed in this shop was that some of the furniture seemed to have come from the Netherlands - i.e. its not all second hand stuff sourced from the UK. I bought a bookcase from them. They will haggle on prices.

[Bloomdido]

Strange place. I am sure they means test people as Strix inferred. I have never seen such crap being offered for sale, although this was a couple of years ago. Their decent stuff is way over-priced. I think it is a front for some kind of illicit activities.

 

Do all the people that go in to Remar come out?

[Clumber]

Originally posted by WallBuilder

Remar are getting more and more picky about what furniture they are prepared to take off your hands and I have got friends who have asked Remar to come and collect things only to have them turn up and turn their noses up at the stuff.

 

I've had that experience too.

 

I also once saw a really nice chair in the shop on Abbeydale Road and stopped to have a look at it, thinking if its anything less than £100 I might get it. Needless to say, at over £300 it stayed where it was.

 

Wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

[cgksheff]

No experience with them and so no comment.

 

But to keep the facts straight, a bit of Googling will show that Remar International was founded in and is still based in Spain, not Portugal.

Close, but not quite there. (..... and probably does not affect what libuse was trying to suggest).

 

Web site is here:

http://www.remar.org/english/principal.htm

 

A worker's news/begging letter is here:

http://www.crisis-centre.org.uk/news/bigwood_0404.htm

[Vini]

remar uk, opposite jacksons and liberty works (student accom) is or seems very dodgy.

 

we've often seen 3 or 4 vans full of people getting out, very late at night. these are all "non english" people.

 

granted they may be legal immigrants but it all seems very dodgy.

 

the remar workers do their best to hide what theyre doing too like parking with their vans door in their warehouse. so we cannot see what theyre taking out.

 

most of these people who get out of the vans are then quickly led into the church type building right next to it.

 

all seems very dodgy to me, we have said so since being at liberty in september.

[Strix]

Originally posted by Vini

we've often seen 3 or 4 vans full of people getting out, very late at night.

Well, at the very least, travelling by this method is an offence

[Litha]

Originally posted by Vini

remar uk, opposite jacksons and liberty works (student accom) is or seems very dodgy.

 

we've often seen 3 or 4 vans full of people getting out, very late at night. these are all "non english" people.

 

granted they may be legal immigrants but it all seems very dodgy.

 

the remar workers do their best to hide what theyre doing too like parking with their vans door in their warehouse. so we cannot see what theyre taking out.

 

most of these people who get out of the vans are then quickly led into the church type building right next to it.

 

all seems very dodgy to me, we have said so since being at liberty in september.

 

well that backs up what the old fella told me then eh?

with all thats been said i think remar needs investigating, they sound * very * dodgy

[Don_Kiddick]

Anyone ever seen Soylent Green???

[libuse]

But to keep the facts straight, a bit of Googling will show that Remar International was founded in and is still based in Spain, not Portugal.

 

 

Many apologies; the people I have worked with had all told me the organisation were Portuguese, and I hadn't checked. Maybe because of the number of Portuguese people they provide services to, they had jumped to this conclusion? Sorry for my inaccuracy.

 

As to the question about onward options for Remar's clients, again I must profess ignorance. All the ex - clients I have dealt with had exited Remar "mid programme". Who knows, maybe they have an absolutely fantastic after care support service..........??