SHARP Celebrates 21 Years of Recovery Support in Liverpool with Special Anniversary Event at The Brink Café

The event welcomed around 70 guests and celebrated the impact SHARP has had on hundreds of individuals and families across the city since launching 21 years ago.

The event was hosted at The Brink Cafe, Liverpool’s pioneering recovery café and alcohol-free social enterprise. Located in the heart of the city centre, The Brink provides a welcoming and inclusive space for people in recovery, alongside affordable food, community events and specialist addiction support services.

The afternoon began with tea, coffee and powerful personal stories of recovery and resilience from former clients Maria, Tony, Terry, Daniel and Paula. Together, the speakers represented more than 30 years of sustained recovery since completing the SHARP programme.

Guests were also treated to moving musical performances by Fenika, a current member of staff whose own journey through SHARP saw her progress from service user to volunteer and now staff member. Fenika closed the event with a performance of Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror, which she also performed at The Forward Trust’s 'Recovery’s Got Talent' event last year.

A special stone painting activity invited attendees to decorate stones with words, feelings and memories inspired by SHARP. The painted stones will now be placed in the SHARP garden as a lasting symbol of recovery, gratitude and community.

SHARP is one of three Forward Trust services operating in Liverpool and is based on Rodney Street. The 48-day day treatment rehabilitation programme provides one-to-one counselling, group therapy, assignment work, life skills and personal development support for people recovering from addiction.

Alongside SHARP, The Forward Trust also operates ADPASS, which offers one-to-one counselling, and Brink of Change, a pre-abstinence support group based at The Brink Café that helps individuals work towards abstinence and further treatment or employment opportunities.

Speaking about the milestone anniversary, Cassandra Chidlow, Regional Manager of the North and Midlands at The Forward Trust, said:

“SHARP has been helping people get well in Liverpool for 21 years. Hundreds of individuals have been supported to make and maintain positive changes in their lives. This positivity ripples out to improve the lives of their partners, children and loved ones. SHARP has and continues to make a real difference, and we are so proud of it.”

The event reflected the spirit of recovery, connection and hope that has defined SHARP for more than two decades and highlighted the life-changing impact of community-based addiction support services in Liverpool.

Thanks to new funding from the UK government’s Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), The Brink Café has been able to extend its opening hours. This includes late-night opening on Thursdays and Fridays, as well as recently adding Saturday opening hours, enabling the popular city-centre venue to operate six days a week.

Find out more about The Brink on our website.