Recovery Month Reflections: Forward’s in-person recovery event for London-based staff

The event, which was held at Roots and Shoots in London, was well-attended and fostered an engaging atmosphere.

The day kicked off with a warm welcome from Annie Gaisie, Service Manager for London Dependency and Recovery in the South East, who outlined the day for those who attended. She was joined by Mark Ash, our Lived Experience Coordinator, and Nathan Naine, a Peer Mentor.

Several partner agencies delivered informative sessions, including Naloxone training from Turning Point and presentations from The Bridges, Forward Connect, and Catch 22. These talks were aimed at enhancing understanding and collaboration among participants.

The event also featured impactful testimonials from service managers, team leaders, and both current and ex-service users shared their personal journeys of recovery.

Participants had the chance to explore various informational stalls throughout the day, including ones on:

• Wellbeing: This stall provided resources on sleep hygiene, mindfulness, and daily activity tracking, along with stress balls, lavender bags, and motivational books.
• Substance Misuse Awareness: Offered a drugs awareness box featuring synthetic drugs, alcohol unit measuring cups, and beer goggles for educational purposes.
• Forward Trust Services: Shared vital information on dependency, recovery processes, local treatment providers, and harm reduction.

There was also lots of fun activities, such as live music and line dancing, a substance misuse awareness quiz, and an award ceremony to celebrate the work of Forward employees and volunteers in and around the area of recovery.

Shareen Hemmuth, Senior Operations Manager of our Rehabilitative Services, had this to say about the event:

“We were delighted to have been able to bring together members from across the recovery community for this important networking and partnership event. It was amazing to hear speeches throughout the day from those with lived experience of addiction and to see the impact that recovery services have had on their lives. Listening to stories on how many now work as peer mentors was something really special and we are proud to work with those who have a real understanding of how important our services are.

“This event showed just how much we have delivered over the last 12 months and highlighted our ambitions for the year ahead. Most importantly, it demonstrated the role that staff across these services have in helping individuals transform their lives by encouraging them to move on from addiction and the cycles of crime.

“The Forward Trust remains at the forefront of frontline drug and alcohol harm reduction services, both in the community and within criminal justice settings. This event allowed us to celebrate and recognise the contributions of staff working in Forward’s Dependency and Recovery services.”

The Recovery Event was a great way to wrap up Recovery Month at The Forward Trust, fostering education, connection, and community among those involved in recovery services.