In recovery, milestones matter. A day, a week, 30 days, a year. Each one is marked sincerely and with hope, because each one is proof that another way of living your life is possible. This month I’m proud to say that Abbeycare is marking a milestone of our own, as we celebrate our 20th anniversary.
I’ll be honest: we’ve never been particularly good at talking about ourselves. We’d much rather quietly get on with the job of improving our services, supporting our staff, working alongside other organisations who share our philosophy, and helping people rebuild their lives. Ultimately, our success isn’t measured by what we say, it’s measured by the lives that are changed for the better. But 20 years feels like a moment worth pausing on, if only because of how far we’ve come, growing into one of the UK’s leading providers of residential rehabilitation for people with substance use issues.
In 2006, Abbeycare was formed in Scotland as a six-bed service at Brownhill House in North Ayrshire, with the aim of helping people recover from alcohol addictions. Liam Mehigan, our operations director, has been with the organisation since those early days.
‘When I first joined Abbeycare, it only had one manager and a few support workers,’ he recalls. ‘As well as their caring responsibilities, the staff were also expected to take out the bins and do the dishes. Starting from these very small, humble origins, it has grown into a much more professional organisation. Now we’ve got so many different departments, covering admissions to outreach, and teams of recovery practitioners and therapists and clinicians. It’s become a much more multidisciplinary service. But what it has never lost is that sense of being part of the community and giving something back.’
Building on the success of that first six-bed house, Abbeycare opened a second premises at nearby Monkredding House in 2013, the same year that it took its first steps into England by opening another rehab facility at Newmarket in Suffolk. In 2015 we relocated to the grand Murdostoun Castle in North Lanarkshire, which was originally built in the 15th century. It was a remarkable building in a tranquil location, and gave us the space to expand and start treating people with drug issues and other substance use problems, not just alcohol.
A few years later, Liam was out walking his dog when he spotted a ‘for sale’ sign outside Erskine Mains House, a purpose-built care facility which was previously used as a home for veterans. In 2021, Abbeycare Scotland moved there and that is where we’ve stayed.
Our English service, meanwhile, became Abbeycare Gloucester in 2019 and continues to be based at Hygrove House in Minsterworth, a country retreat in a peaceful setting. Between our sites on both sides of the border, we now employ more than 130 staff.
It’s wonderful to reflect that over the past 20 years, thousands of people have come through our doors, thousands of lives have been changed, and thousands of families have been given more time with someone they love.
Around half of our staff are in long-term recovery themselves, often deciding that they would like to pursue careers in the sector after taking part in our volunteering or mentoring initiatives.
One example is Emma Harrison, who joined our peer support programme in Erskine six months after completing a 12-week stay at Abbeycare. She was assigned as a contact for people who were about to leave, using her own experience to guide them through this tricky period. She then moved onto our volunteering programme, where participants are given the chance to work in the clinic, learn from other staff, and complete training courses. Now, she works as an outreach co-ordinator.
In Gloucester, meanwhile, Jess Fry was recently promoted to the position of senior recovery practitioner. She first came through Abbeycare’s doors while in the depths of alcohol dependency, but has since turned her life around, and is now often the first person new clients see when they arrive.
As Liam recalls, what has always set Abbeycare apart has been its people. ‘Looking back over the over the years, I’d say we’ve been blessed with so many good people, well-intentioned people, that have worked for the organisation,’ he says. ‘They might not always have been the most highly qualified in the early days, but sometimes having the right heart and being dedicated and committed can be just as powerful. Some of the people who started their careers here have since gone on to run amazing recovery-related organisations and are now CEOs themselves, which is incredible to see.’
'Our success isn't measured by what we say, it's measured by the lives that are changed for the better. But 20 years feels like a moment worth pausing on, if only because of how far we've come.'
Abbeycare has always sought to have a positive ripple effect, and the last couple of years have shown me what this community can do when it pulls together.
Last year, for instance, in partnership with the St Mirren FC Charitable Foundation, we launched Abbeycare Buddies, a weekly hub taking place at the club’s stadium. The sessions provide people in recovery with a hot meal and a safe place to talk and share, as well as offering everything from creative writing to photography courses for those who want to pursue new interests or revive old passions.
One of the groups that grew out of this later performed an original play called The Backdater, with a cast entirely made up of people in recovery. It was written by our former outreach manager Eddie Clarke, a creative force who also launched Listen UP, our recovery-themed podcast where people talk about their experiences with incredible honesty.
Then there are our recovery gatherings, held each September, where hundreds of former clients and their families come together to reconnect with the staff who supported them through their darkest times, and celebrate what they’ve achieved. This extraordinary community grows each year, and last month’s event in Scotland was attended by more than 450 people.
One of the achievements I’m most proud of is our decision to bring Scotland’s Jericho Houses in Greenock and Dundee into the Abbeycare family last year. Previously run by one of Scotland’s oldest rehabilitation charities, their future was in doubt. By stepping in we secured 40 rehab beds and 30 jobs, and have since embarked on a major renovation programme so their vital work can continue.
This October, we’re marking our anniversary in another special way with the inaugural Scottish Recovery Awards, a new event recognising the staff, volunteers and organisations doing the hard, often invisible, work of supporting recovery.
The awards will be addressed by singer Lulu, who has spoken openly in recent years about her own recovery from alcoholism. As she put it herself: ‘These awards are about recognising people who are changing their lives and helping others do the same. It’s important that we celebrate those achievements and remind people that recovery is possible.’
We decided to create the awards to mark our 20th anniversary, but I don’t want them to be regarded as an Abbeycare event. My hope is that they become something that belongs to the whole recovery community, because so much of what deserves recognition happens well away from our own clinics, in services, charities and volunteer networks the length and breadth of Scotland.
So here we are: 20 years on from a six-bed house in North Ayrshire, Abbeycare has become its own recovery community spanning Scotland and England, run by some of the people who once arrived at our door needing help, and stayed to pass it on to others. Here’s to the next milestone, and many more along the way.
Paul Bowley is chief executive of Abbeycare
Pictures of the Recovery Gathering are by Dominic Thompson /Expoja Photography