£400k recovery centre to tackle drug and alcohol addiction

The leader of North East Lincolnshire Council said that the creation of a £400,000 drug and alcohol recovery programme is a solution to “what is seen as a pernicious blight on society”.

Members of the authority’s executive approved plans to find a provider for the new service and purchase a building to set up a centre for the programme.

The service will help those recovering from addiction problems and substance misuse by providing support, as well as opportunities for education and employment.

The council said that helping people to continue to recover will reduce crime and disorder and improve health in the county.

Leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, Councillor Ray Oxby.

But, leader of the authority, Councillor Ray Oxby, said that drug and alcohol abuse was a “symptom of wider mental health” issue and that the new service will help sufferers to help themselves.

“A lot of people suffer from mental health and a lot of people need at different times in their lives support from others,” he said.

“We’re here as an authority to create an environment where people can help themselves in a recovery programme where they can come together with similar people and be supported by professionals.

“They can realise the potential that they have got skills and we can get them back into mainstream work and make them contributors to society.

“I see it as a brilliant solution to what is often seen as a pernicious blight on society and often hidden as well.”

He added that a site has yet to be found for the centre but that the council wants the service to be “self supporting and self financed.”

Members of the council’s cabinet approved the plans at Grimsby Town Hall. Photo: David Wright

A total of £248,146 is set to be spent on buying a centre which will be paid for through a Public Health England grant secured by the council in 2016.

Meanwhile, running the service is expected to cost £150,000 over the next three years.

The council currently has 1,254 people in recovery based services in the region, with 170 using drug and alcohol programmes every year.

Councillor Jane Hyldon-King, portfolio holder for health and wellbeing, said the service will give people a chance to make a difference in their communities.

She said: “The recovery community will support people over 18 who have completed the treatment part of their recovery journey.

“The recovery community will help them to maintain a drug or alcohol-free lifestyle and improve their lives.

“The centre will also give people on their recovery journey the chance to help make a difference in a local community, getting involved in activities such as horticulture, sport and recycling, as well as offering them employment, education and training opportunities.

“This project has the potential to transform the way that drug and alcohol rehabilitation services work in our area..

“The support provided to individuals is to be available for as long as they want it and is abstinence based.”

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