‘It turned a difficult time into something meaningful’
‘The role helped me build my self-esteem back up and I felt like I had some purpose again… It turned a very difficult time in my life into something meaningful.’ In our cover story to mark Volunteers’ Week (p6), contributors speak volumes about the value of being welcomed into the workplace and supported to gain new skills and career goals.
Our other main focus is housing, because as Claire McCreanor points out (p18), ‘the correlation between insecure housing and substance use is sadly as strong as ever.’ We look at how physical and mental health problems, adverse childhood experiences and many other complex issues feed the cycle of homelessness, leaving people to feel they are ‘constantly at the wrong door’ (p14).
Another key component is challenging the stigma that can so often prevent people from asking for – or even accepting – help. So we were really pleased that Dan Carden MP talked openly to us about his own ‘incredibly isolating’ experience of addiction (p10), which has led him to become passionate about the power of recovery communities and ‘dedicated to championing visible recovery’.
You can hear Dan speak at the DDN Conference on 23 June – look forward to seeing you (in person) in Birmingham!
Read the June issue as an online magazine or download the PDF
Claire Brown, editor
Please send your letters and comment to claire@cjwellings.com