Annual Review
2021/22
Welcome to Red Rose Recovery’s Annual Review for 2021/2022.
We are all incredibly proud of the achievements and outcomes made this past year, with the organisation experiencing significant growth and a compelling increase in the demand for our services.
Red Rose Recovery has more than doubled in size, with our team quickly approaching 80 staff members and acquiring several new contracts, working with new and established partners across the North West.
It’s important to celebrate and recognise the unwavering commitment and enthusiasm shown by our amazing team of staff and volunteers. Each and every day they go above and beyond to ensure that those most in need within our communities continue to receive our support.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our wonderful staff and volunteer team, our Board of Trustees for their endless support, and our funding and operational partners for their continued investment into our services.
The following review highlights some of the great work our team has achieved over the previous 12 months.
Michael Wearden
Managing Director, Red Rose Recovery
In 2021/2022, we’ve…
Engaged
times with individuals in our communities
A 115% Increase
(COMPARED TO 9,776
IN 20/21)
Delivered
Project and group sessions
A 33% Increase
(COMPARED TO 1,271 IN 20/21)
facilitated
attendances at our groups, Projects & Events
A 89% Increase
(COMPARED TO 7,321 IN 20/21)
Achieved
Soft Outcomes for the Indivuduals working with us
A 106% Increase
(COMPARED TO 17,078 IN 20/21)
Supported
times with telephone calls & texts to service users
A 124% Increase
(COMPARED TO 2,579 IN 20/21)
signposted
times to other services & organisations
A 8% Increase
(COMPARED TO 2,455 IN 20/21)
The data showed that…
“The odds of a service user experiencing an outcome are 3.5 times higher given that they volunteered, compared to if they didn’t volunteer”
“The odds of a service user experiencing an outcome are 2 times higher given that they were signposted, compared to if they weren’t signposted”
don’t just take our word for our impact…
I have been an alcoholic for the past 20 years. Something that crept up on me gradually. I had a rough few years and used alcohol as a crutch, it took over my life and I couldn’t function. I managed periods of sobriety using will power. I have tried Inspire, Alcoholics Anonymous also stayed in rehab but have failed every time.
This time I self referred to Red Rose after being given a leaflet at the hospital. This was followed up by a phone call from Emily almost straight away and an introduction to the women’s zoom group hosted by Lynne. I was hooked after my first meeting. We talk about everything, how we are feeling now positives and negatives, we cry but most importantly we laugh too and we are there for each other. I recently didn’t attend for 2 weeks and missed the group so much I jumped on a meeting that I don’t usually, just to be back. I am also attending my group this evening.
Red Rose has become my life line. It has given me confidence that I can do it and in those down times help is just a phone call away. We are all very different women but with one important thing in common and we are there to help each other which in turn helps us. I have been sober now for 2 months and feel I have the help and strength to carry on.
It’s early days for me yet as this is only my second session but all the feedback from the Service Users seems positive and encouraging. I will come again. It’s good to have time to talk about my addiction/substance use in an impartial and non-judgmental way, and to get professional support. The group meetings are beneficial as well as the one to one’s. Speaking to others helps me to look at things from a new perspective, and to value myself so that I can make better choices
I would like to say a big thank you to the following organisations that helped out on the allotment this week, so if you see them on site please introduce yourselves and say hello.
Red Rose Recovery:
Sarah O, Donna M, Kaitlyn G, Freddie
Cancer Care:
Sarah, Chris, Margaret, Angie, Sarah D, Shelly, Patsie, John, Hilary
The work that they have done this week has been invaluable and I think everyone would agree that their help is very much appreciated. They have not only helped with the edible hedgerows but also cleared the wooden compost bins ready for Lancaster Men’s Hub to start the renovation of these bins, thank you.
I came to Red Rose Recovery as a volunteer to gain some understanding of recovery as part of my psychology studies. I was put to work quickly planning and organising, which has helped the head office structure. I have gained skills and experience that I hadn’t considered prior to coming to Red Rose. I am gaining transferrable skills in terms of Human Resources and the running of the organisation and it’s structure, but I am also observing the roles of team leaders and volunteers. I get involved with service users and support training by helping set up and have even helped out with the creation, contributing ideas by using the psychology knowledge I already have.
The key thing I have gained from this role is the sense of community, everyone has been so welcoming and so supportive that it feels almost like I’ve gained a new family. I will be returning to my studies in the coming weeks but I will remain with Red Rose Recovery and will continue to support both the organisation and my own development. I am now determined to tackle awareness of recovery as part of my studies and will be contacting my high school and college to build greater awareness and education around this matter using the contacts and relationships I already have.
The LUF lounge live draws its curtains
Launched in March 2020 as the pandemic hit, the monthly LUF events were one of the first concepts in our sector to be adapted into an online format known as the “LUF Lounge Live”, in an effort to continue to provide support to people in the community.
After a hugely successful, almost two years, resulting in 98 weekly episodes featuring life stories, music, takeovers, a huge and wide-ranging number of professionals and partners from all over our sector and so much more, the LUF Lounge Live drew to a close on 26th February 2022, as we re-focus efforts into shifting back into face to face events.
You can watch any and all of the Live Lounges here on our website or on our YouTube channel and we’ll be looking at putting something together with some of the content over the coming months.
The luf lounge in numbers 2021/22
PEOPLE REACHED
Views & Engagements
POST IMPRESSIONS
MINUTES Watched
That’s…
1689 hours or
70.5 days
of LUF Lounge content watched this year…
The luf lounge overall numbers, from start to finish (March 2020 to February 2022)
Shows aired
Views & Engagements
MINUTES Watched
PEOPLE REACHED
impressions
That’s…
5906 hours or
246 days
of LUF Lounge content watched between March 2020 and February 2022…
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Meet steven
Recovery Infrastructure Organisation
Lancashire county council
Red Rose are commissioned by Lancashire County Council’s Public Health Team to deliver a Recovery Infrastructure Organisation (RIO).
For us this means that we:
- Demonstrate visible recovery, and the various routes to this.
- Build and maintain a vibrant recovery community in Lancashire.
- Provide groups, projects, community events and volunteering opportunities for people in recovery to participate in.
- Support the Lancashire User Forum to provide service users in Lancashire a voice and use this to influence service design, to celebrate recovery, to educate the community and to reduce stigma.
- To manage the Building Recovery in Communities (BRiC) fund to enable projects, for and/or supporting those in recovery to bid for public funds to kickstart their business.
Building Recovery in Communities (Bric)
The Building Recovery in Communities (BRiC) Fund managed by Red Rose Recovery, is a community asset fund providing grants across the 12 district authorities of Lancashire to social enterprises, organisations and community projects supporting individuals and their families in recovery from substance misuse.
Awards of up to £4999 are available alongside Stepping Stone grants of £1000 to help a wide range of projects which have been inspired by the recovery community.
In 2021/22, there were…
Applications received for BRIC funding
Successful Applicants who passed the interview stages to receive their funding
£'s Given in funding to help start & support community projects & organisations
“Since receiving funding from the BRiC Fund (last Autumn) we have been able to put this towards supporting our local community with home cooked microwavable meals and bags of shopping to supplement some households who are struggling to feed themselves. Those we are helping include the elderly, infirm, those shielding from Covid-19, some who are ill with the virus, families who have found themselves in a state of poverty and some members of our homeless and addiction recovery communities.
We have also been able to provide bags of food to be given out on the streets of Preston by Emma Daggers of Red Rose Recovery.
We deliver approximately 600-700 meals and 160 bags of shopping every month.
The future payments we receive as part of this funding package will enable us to keep supporting people throughout the coming months. We are aware of the intense hardship and poverty that existed in Preston and our local community before the pandemic – which has now exacerbated the situation considerably.
Our volunteers are a friendly face each week to those who are lonely and we have forged good relationships with many of our clients and we hope to find further funding in the future to continue supporting those who need it.”
Mental Health Work
CMHT
Programme Objectives:
• Improve patient wellbeing
• Reduction in self-harm and suicides.
• Promote community-based opportunities.
• Contribute to reductions in avoidable admissions and diversion from acute and primary care systems.
• Contribute to reductions in 12-hour admission breaches.
• Housing and social work in-reach in inpatient wards to facilitate discharge.
• Establish pathways for high intensity users to access RRR services from each of the Integrated Community Partnerships and Multi Agency Group’s.
S136
Programme Objectives:
• A reduction in the number of Section 136 detentions across the Pennine ICP footprint
• A reduction in the number of hours that Police Officers spend dealing with Section 136 detainees.
• A reduction in the number of service users requiring conveyance to ‘places of safety’.
• A reduction in the number of A&E referrals to mental health services
• Promote community-based opportunities.
• Signpost service users in to wider RRR structured peer support networks.
With both contracts having only launched mid-way through Quarter 4, we are already seeing a steady stream of referrals coming into the organisation…
Referrals Received
CMHT
S136
Face to face ENGAGEMENTS, PHONE CALLS, TEXTS AND EMAILS made to CMHT and S136 referrals
CMHT
S136
positive Soft Outcomes for Individuals working with us
CMHT
S136
Case Studies
CB, CMHT
This lady is 74 and was referred from OACMHT. She has a history of depression and anxiety and her husband suffers from a heart condition which affects his health and mobility. They live in a small village and need to move so that they can be closer to amenities. They did put their house on the market themselves but seem to have been pressurised to sell and move quickly. This caused a great deal of stress and anxiety to CB who was already very vulnerable causing her to pull out and take their house off the market.
They now need help to find a suitable place to live and then sell their house. CB cannot face dealing with this on her own due to the stress which the whole situation is causing her. Having spoken to her and reassuring her that we can help her and look after her interests she agreed to our support.
I have been in touch with a new housing development in which she has shown an interest and I will help in any negotiations if it is suitable for them. I will also look into any other possible housing. She is looking at moving into a rental property and selling her house when they are settled.
Looking forward I will support CB through this process and at the same time help her to look after her mental health by keeping in touch regularly. So far this is via phone calls. She has already said that she feels relieved that there is someone to help her through what seems quite a traumatic time for her.
Y, S136
Y came to us from Street Triage. We met with him face-to-face but it soon became apparent he had lots of needs. He was homeless, smoking large amounts of cannabis, was on probation and was a Domestic Violence perpetrator.
We got our lived experience colleagues from the Red Rose Changing Futures Team to come and talk to him. Together with Y we completed a referral form for Changing Futures, which was taken to the panel and Y was accepted onto the programme, which will offer intensive support for up to 12 months.
We are still supporting Y and he is making great progress with our colleagues from Changing Futures.
Digital Platforms & Social Media
With social media and and digital platforms playing such a huge role in today’s world, we have ensured that we keep ahead of the curve.
Throughout this year we expanded our digital coverage into TikTok and Pinterest, now covering 8 Social Media channels in total.
We’ve seen large increases in our numbers across the board, with over 10.5k people now following us on Social Media and reaching over 1.25 million people throughout this last year with our content. This means that we have the largest following of any Lancashire-focused charity in the recovery sector.
We had a hugely successive, viral post on TikTok, which alone was viewed over 1/2 a million times!
We’ve kept up our innovation, retaining and improving offers such as our online groups and activities after the pandemic and are leading the way with our interactive calendar on the website, making it even easier for people to find us and explore what they can get involved in, to help their recovery.
The introduction of a new Quarterly Newsletter in Q3 2021-22 allows us to highlight more regularly the ongoing work at the organisation, bringing to the forefront, the achievements of both the staff and some of the successive stories from the people we work with.
by the end of 2021/22, we had…
increased to
Followers across our social media platforms (FROM 7,579 IN 2020-21)
Reached over
people with our content on social media
engaged
times with our content on facebook
received
Visitors on our website
a total of
Hits on our website
increased to
Service user and professionals installs of our Smartphone App
We expanded our digital portfolio and now cover…
Followers
YouTube
Subscribers
Followers
Followers
Followers
TikTok
Followers
Followers
LUF Facebook
Members
And we introduced a new quarterly Newsletter…
changing futures
What is Changing Futures?
Nationally, Changing Futures is a government initiative led by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, who have allocated £64 million over the 3 years of the project. The aim is to improve outcomes for adults experiencing multiple disadvantages, as well as delivering long-term system change.
Throughout Lancashire, it will support people with multiple and complex needs to make lasting positive change – through multi agency, trauma informed and ACEs approaches facilitated by lived experience navigators, associate navigators and peer mentors.
Navigators use their lived-experience to build trust and confidence in the system, connecting beneficiaries to Services and advocating on their behalf.
Changing Futures is a learning pilot to inform future working and drive system change across the Lancashire footprint, with an emphasis on sharing our learning with partners.
Our (Red Rose Recovery’s) Role in Changing Futures
Red Rose Recovery’s role within Changing Futures is to provide a team of lived experience staff in East Lancashire, consisting of Navigators, Associate Navigators and Peer Mentors, supporting individuals with multiple disadvantage.
In late January the team went live and started taking referrals from the daily Multi-Disciplinary Panel who assess referrals against the criteria of the aforementioned 5 disadvantages.
The team work intensively for up to 12 months with these ‘beneficiaries’ and seek to use a trauma informed, person-centred approach to gain the trust of people who usually feel that they have been let down by services and have a mis-trust or fear of them. The team can engage with the beneficiaries on a different level to most services, and have already achieved some great outcomes in the 3 months that they have been working.
At the time of writing, the East CF Team are working with 63 beneficiaries and are leading the way nationally, with many of their practices being adopted by other areas across the country.
As a result of this early success, we have had the East contract extended until March 2024.
In March 2022, we were awarded the contract to deliver the Lived Experience Team across Central, South and West Lancashire and recruitment for these 12 new posts is currently underway.
The programme so far is going really well, we are making significant positive changes in people’s lives that other services are claiming they haven’t been able to achieve in years of working with an individual. We do believe this is due to the lived experience approach from the navigators and the intense work we do with them.
Having only started mid-way through Quarter 4, we are already working with…
Service Users with multiple disadvantage in Lancashire
I am grateful to Inspire for getting John Smith this opportunity to work with Andrew and Phil. I personally wasn’t aware of Changing Futures so this has been a positive for myself too, to learn that it exists. I believe Andrew and Phil have really connected with John and have been a huge influence to him. I don’t believe we could have made so much progress with Leighton without the help of them.
Within the past 2 weeks they have got him to attend for appointments to get his infected leg treated which he was reluctant to do at first. They have found him accommodation, albeit not up to Johns standards, but he is still off the streets.
John was adamant that he wouldn’t move out of the Accrington area and Andrew & Phil have managed to convince him to move to Blackburn on the basis of it being temporary. John has had his GP reinstated and now has all the medication he needs. I’m sure there is so much more that they have done but these are just what I can say off the top of my head.
I think the way they have worked with John has been very impressive and I believe their strategy works. They have spent a lot of time with him, gained his trust and helped him out massively to be able to attend healthcare appointments, probation appointments etc. Maybe a little hand holding to start is the way forward, and then, as is happening now, gradually letting go, putting limits and expectations in place and insisting on that independence that he needs to learn.
I would like to thank Andrew and Phil for their input with John and I look forward to continuing to work with them going forward and hopefully between us all, we will continue to see positive changes in John.
Very positive feedback so far with my case John Smith, who I’m sure you are aware of through IOM. John has been a really challenging case over the last few years and has persistently failed to attend and as such has been breached repeatedly or committed further offences.
Since engaging with Changing Futures he has made some really positive changes. He has attended all appointments with me over the last 2 months and has also attended Inspire and an appointment with mental health which is a first for him. They have also helped him with medical appointments and applied for PiP etc which John is really happy about as he is really struggling financially due to all his fines etc.
He does have a much better outlook on life at present and hasn’t expressed any thoughts of suicide or self harm which is great at this was a frequent issue for John resulting in O/Ds and hospital admissions etc.
Meet emily
Leadership program
Developing people to become leaders in their community to give back, address stigma and connect people in recovery through projects developed within an asset based approach.
The Leadership Programme is aimed at members of Red Rose Recovery; experts through experience of a range of issues including the criminal justice system, substance misuse and mental health issues.
Access to the programme is subject to identification of a potential participant’s personal assets, commitment to change and personal development.
Red Rose Recovery Leaders who have embraced behaviour change generally thrive when exposed to positive influences in the community and following development plans created with them around their needs, abilities and aspirations. Many progress through learning, volunteering and community activation into employment with ourselves and onward.
The course provides a programme of learning to build on the assets of potential leaders with experience of the criminal justice system.
In 2021/22, we had 73 individuals attending various levels of the LEadership Programme, of which…
Completed the Foundation Level 1 programme
Completed the intermediate LEvel 2 programme
completed the advanced level 3 programme
That’s 73 certificates given out to new leaders who will go on to build and showcase visible recovery out in our communities
I have found being part of the leadership program an invaluable experience. It is truly heart-warming to see that such a place exists, and it has been wonderful to have a glimpse of the Red Rose Project and how it operates. Being a coach has been very rewarding for me and it has been really inspiring to watch the participants grow in confidence and knowledge. I feel that some of the topics and conversations we have had, have not only helped the participants, but have also helped me to look at myself as an individual, highlighting what skills I have and of course my weaknesses. I am now exploring the possibilities of moving to a career which would enable me to support and work with vulnerable people.
In relation to my participant, he has really demonstrated great commitment to the program and has always made himself available for our catch-up chats. The difference in him from start to finish of the course has been fantastic. He has grown in confidence and has much more belief in himself. I truly wish great things to come for him. It has been an absolute pleasure working alongside him.
This course has been a journey for me as I was a manager in one of my previous roles and due to alcohol abuse and a diagnosis with mental health, anxiety and depression I gave up on myself and could no longer cope. I also had lost confidence in every aspect of my working life and honestly thought I was useless to the world.
The course was delivered at just the pace I needed it to be in order to grow my confidence and self-esteem and to be honest, I was scared of failure at first but then the work coach came into it and this assured me I was not alone and would be given all the help information and guidance I needed and this was greatly important to my progress.
I gained so much knowledge in this course about myself and others around me in a working environment and how in order to succeed in life you have to integrate your skill set with others.
I gained confidence in myself over the course of the program that now I believe I can do anything I put my mind to and there are resources and people out there in order to help me along the way.
Now I am certain that whatever job role I decide to take one in the future I can do better than before as this program showed and gave me confidence in the skills that I already had but never had the mindset to realize them, and then showed me a way in improving my skillset.
I learned small very important things that gave me confidence in life such as one day I could get a mortgage what to me sounded ludicrous as I had to be hospitalized but has given me confidence in the financial sector, in that I can ask for help in the work place at any time, I can write a CV to apply for jobs as at the age 43, I still to this day have never had to write one and wouldn’t of knows where to start.
Let me tell you what this has done for me I was a man who had given up on ever achieving anything in life. I knew what I wanted to do but had given up trying as I thought it was never achievable. Now I am confident, full of purpose and ready to face the world again, as now I know I need the world and it needs me.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart you have truly changed my life.
Our New You Service has continued to support service users and families.
We have delivered 3 online family groups per week along with numerous service user groups, which we use to capture their views on services and also to support them in their addiction and recovery.
We have also done various outreach projects from delivering lock boxes for medication to longer pieces of work supporting individuals
Liaison & Diversion
Liaison & Diversion is funded by the NHS who have contracted us to employ Peer Support Workers to provide lived experience in Preston custody suite. This is to be able to relate to people coming through the criminal justice system with identified vulnerabilities. The Peer Support Workers build relationships with the individuals and empower, support, and signpost them into services that have been identified in the community.
Glenn, the Criminal Justice Operations Manager provided an update as of the end of Quarter 3:
“Q3 has seen the continued recruitment of the Peer Support Workers (PSW) for Prison, Police stations, and Secure units in all areas across Lancashire & Cumbria. The team now comprises 12 staff working across Lancashire & Cumbria, all doing an amazing job in supporting people.
The service shows how valuable people with a lived experience of the criminal justice is in these secure environments and collaborative working meets the needs of the clients.
The joint approach has seen relationships build within the three services and being able to use each others resources has been evident in supporting clients. A few of the Liaison & Diversion team have been getting food donations that Red Rose Recovery receive from Greggs bakery to support vulnerable clients, they have been attending a peer led group at evening to pick up the donations and then taking the food to the individuals that they were supporting, These individuals have been identified and the staff have gone above and beyond to support people in need. This has had a knock-on effect in our local communities which has reduced re-offending, as the clients have not had to go and commit crime to eat.
Some of the services we have been referring into include; Domestic Violence Services, Change Grow Live, Food Banks, Veterans’ Services, Housing and Mental Health Services.
The work force model is enabling people from diverse backgrounds to develop into progressive roles and one of the team has been successful in progressing into a support worker role with the NHS. The client said “This wouldn’t be possible if she hadn’t of come through Red Rose Recovery” as she has been able to show her skill set and work ethic before applying for a progressive role. Another team member has also been successful in getting a practitioner role for the new service reconnect (NHS) and this has shown that anything is possible. These people that have achieved this have had experience of the Criminal Justice System and could never believe that they would be in positions with the NHS, working in Police stations and Prisons and secure units.
Due to the positive work that been carried out in these secure environments, me and a colleague got asked by the Police to deliver a presentation to senior police officers around trauma and how this can have an impact on people’s behaviours and that some people who come into contact of the Criminal Justice System may be victims themselves. Due to the positive feedback from the police, we have been asked to do this again at the Police Head Quarters.
This kind of work has been changing mindsets and perceptions, so that all kind of services can work together to enhance a rehabilitative culture.
The Christmas period was difficult for some of our clients and we went out delivering presents and hampers to the community. These gifts were donated to Red Rose Recovery by Home Indulge, Ingol Primary School, Cross Gate church, Versatile aesthetics, and Rock FM.”
Glenn Ireland – Criminal Justice Operations Manager
Reconnect
Reconnect is new a sister service to Liaison & Diversion and we have been commissioned as a key part, to deliver this to 6 prisons: Preston, Lancaster, Kirkham, Wymott, Garth and Haverigg.
“We will be working with identified vulnerable prisoners, both pre and post release, for up to 6 months. We will be looking to identify unmet needs and refer and support the clients into other services, with the aim of preventing reoffending and supporting their return to the wider community.”
Glenn Ireland – Criminal Justice Operations Manager
The service has created opportunity for people who have overcome adversity. Below is a case study from Daniel who we employed 12 months ago as a Peer Support Worker, he has now developed and progressed onto being employed by the NHS in the Reconnect Team supporting people who have been in the prison system due for release, helping them to transform their lives, which then has an impact on reducing reoffending.
“My name is Daniel and I am an ex offender and have spent time in a rehab due to my drinking. I am currently a Peer Support Worker employed by Red Rose Recovery. Soon I will be moving on to become a Release Engagement Practitioner with the NHS. I would like to tell you about my experiences and how Red Rose Recovery supported me in making this transformation.
I was in a young offenders institute by the time I was 17 years old and began drinking and taking drugs in my teens. My 20s included long periods of unemployment and heavy drinking/ substance misuse. I received numerous convictions and prison sentences related to this. I realise now that I was also suffering with mental health problems also. At the time I could see no way out and came to accept that this is what my life looked like and would continue to do so.
Becoming a father in my early 30s and with the support of my partner I reached out for help to address my drinking. I spent 3 months in a rehab and began to really understand myself and how I had got to this stage. This is where the fight back began and I started to rebuild my life. On leaving rehab I managed to get a part time office job. With renewed hope and optimism I enrolled on a degree course as my ambition began to return. After 3 years I now hold a Foundation Degree in Alcohol and Substance Misuse Work and I have a BA Hons in Health and Applied Social Studies. Still though I worried about how my past would affect my chances of employment. That is when I saw a job advertisement from Red Rose Recovery which was asking for people with lived experience of the Criminal Justice System, Substance misuse or mental health struggles. These were all things which I had experience of and I saw the chance to turn these perceived negative experiences into something positive.
I was lucky enough to have been employed and started working with and supporting people who had been arrested. The role of the Peer Support Worker allows you to draw upon your past in order to help people who are currently struggling with all manner of problems such as drink, drugs and mental health. This is a very enjoyable and rewarding job. We work alongside the NHS Liaison and Diversion Service who are based in Police Stations and Courts. As a Peer Support Worker you are supported by both Red Rose Recovery and the Liaison and Diversion Service. The experience has given me confidence and for me it has played a huge part in turning my situation around. People like myself who have a past can flourish and the opportunity which was given to me by Red Rose Recovery has played a pivotal part in the continued rebuilding of my life. With their support I am now about to embark on a new chapter, working in Prisons and with Prison Leavers. Helping and supporting people who are currently experiencing similar issues to the ones which I once faced.”
Forensic Services
Scott Parker, works in Forensic Services (a secure hospital). Scott has been with us for over two years now. He started as an engagement worker and then took a peer support worker role working in Preston police station in partnership with Liaison & diversion. Scott wanted to work with people who had similar experiences to himself and is one of the success stories that show that it is possible to change your life. His incredible transformation from before to after shows what can be achieved. He is now 36 months abstinent and has rebuilt his life, which not only has transformed his life but the lives of many others in the community and secure services.
we’ve built, forged & strengthened both new & existing partnerships…
Now more than ever, we recognise the importance of partnership working as we’ve developed and innovated new strategies to find new ways of working and delivering support to the most vulnerable in our communities.
a few more Success Stories & Testimonials…
I came to Red Rose Recovery as a volunteer to gain some understanding of recovery as part of my psychology studies. I was put to work quickly planning and organising, which has helped the head office structure. I have gained skills and experience that I hadn’t considered prior to coming to Red Rose. I am gaining transferrable skills in terms of Human Resources and the running of the organisation and it’s structure, but I am also observing the roles of team leaders and volunteers. I get involved with service users and support training by helping set up and have even helped out with the creation, contributing ideas by using the psychology knowledge I already have.
The key thing I have gained from this role is the sense of community, everyone has been so welcoming and so supportive that it feels almost like I’ve gained a new family. I will be returning to my studies in the coming weeks but I will remain with Red Rose Recovery and will continue to support both the organisation and my own development. I am now determined to tackle awareness of recovery as part of my studies and will be contacting my high school and college to build greater awareness and education around this matter using the contacts and relationships I already have.
I attended the hope and beyond course because I was struggling with my mental wellbeing and it was suggested to me that it may help. To be honest, I wasn’t holding much hope.
We as a group very slowly over a few weeks worked on thoughts emotions and behaviours, and I am going to be honest again that suffering with mental health problems started to take me back to CBT cognitive behavioural therapy and I thought here we go again this rubbish as I have had many sessions with professional people using CBT and I honestly didn’t get it and thought it was useless in my situation.
I completed the course with a better understanding of my disorder than ever before, I understand my thoughts how to manage feelings and I have defiantly worked on my behaviours.
The team taking this program were patient and understanding and kept the whole group involved and this gave me the time I needed that I had never had before to learn and understand CBT and how that everyone in the group had different thoughts feeling and behaviours around the same subject, this was a big turning point as I now know that I can change everything and that my feelings around things are not set in stone I created them so I can change them.
I am extremely grateful to have been able to do this hope and beyond and hopefully my feedback will make any professionals realize that now for me this all makes sense and I very easy to grasp but it wasn’t always like that a brain in low mood struggles with taking in information and mine was no different. But this was done in a way that I could relax and take time to take in what was being explained to me.
I would say I wish I had done this 20 years ago but that thought would create a feeling I don’t need so this course has taught me to say I am very grateful I had the chance to do this program.
Meet Lorna
more 2021/22 Highlights
We were proudly awarded The Mayor of Preston’s Coronavirus Pandemic City Hero Award.
During the pandemic, we were running around 35-40 online groups per week to support our communities.
We are in the process of securing our own Hub in Preston City Centre which will transform the way we operate in Preston.
We increased our number of staff to almost 80, with the vast majority of those new roles going to individuals with lived experience of facing multiple disadvantage such as addiction, mental illness, the criminal justice system, homelessness, ACE’s, domestic abuse and more.
Re-introduced face to face LUFs and have averaged over 150 attendees at each event.
We delivered food a few times a week throughout 2021/2022 to the homeless, vulnerable, those in supported housing and others in Preston and Lancaster.
We worked with the Royal Statistical Society to analyse our data and look at how we can make ourselves more efficient and allow our resources to go further, helping more people.
We’ve recruited more Trustees to the Board of Red Rose Recovery to further diversify, support, drive and challenge the orgnisations work.
