Lawton says this is skewing life expectancy statistics, but he freely concedes that some people are dying earlier than they should.
“The stat is a bit misleading really. Because of the type of housing here, really small terraces, they’re all privately rented and the landlords are often absent and don’t do checks.
“People end up here because it’s cheap accommodation, so there’s loads of transients. We get people who’ve hit some sort of crisis in their lives. Because they’re in crisis, they don’t look after their health very well, exacerbated often by drink and drugs, so they die young and it brings down the average life expectancy.”
Revoelution focuses on targeted, face-to-face support. Workers knock on doors to ask people about their health, providing immediate access to health services for those who need them via a waiting NHS van.
Lawton’s colleague, James Walmsley, adds: “There are people whose mental health has been desperate and coming to Revoelution has helped them get back on their feet. We’re trying to help and it is working.”