Peer support |
Community initiatives
December 2011 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 13
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
The Brink is a recovery social enterprise with a focus on regeneration – not just of
the area, but also of the person. It’s about regenerating the lives of people who were
previously lost to addiction – of the 12 staff employed, nine of whom are directly in
recovery, many had not worked for a very long time and some had found it extremely
difficult to find employment because of a criminal past during active addiction.
The day new front of house staff member Jay started work, seeing him in his
uniform and putting his apron on made me weep – it was such a tender moment.
He proudly declared to everyone that this was his first ‘proper’ job, and that earlier
in the day he’d signed off the state benefits he’d been claiming for nearly 27 years
while in the grip of heroin addiction. Seeing him so joyful and excited just blew
everyone away, and people applauded.
The friendliness and warmth of the staff is commented on a lot by customers.
Says Clare Campbell, a local artist: ‘I, like many others I know, stopped going out
into town a long time ago because of the atmosphere in places where so many
people were drunk – that edge of aggression and out-of-control crowds. My heart
sang when I heard about a grown up, fully-fledged pub where we could all relax and
feel safe and enjoy ourselves without that alcohol-induced atmosphere. It lives up
to its promise – a warm welcome and a gorgeous place to hang out. It’s a treasure
– every city should have one!’
Clare’s local freelance network group now meets at The Brink, as do other
social entrepreneurs, and the next step is to build social enterprise into the fabric
of the recovery community, as there’s so much talent there and it’s amazing what
we can tap into. We now have plans for a florist and some other business start-
ups for people in recovery. It’s so exciting what can be done – I recently heard
someone say, ‘When I realised the world didn’t want me then I wanted the world’.
Fed up with being stigmatised, people are frequenting The Brink as valued
customers in a venue that crosses the divide and creates exciting opportunities.
Ian, who works in the kitchen, didn’t realise he would ever have the opportunity
to take up work again in the hospitality industry. ‘Surviving my own alcoholism –
when my brothers lost their lives to it – means that my life is precious, and having
a job I enjoy that gives something back to the recovery community is such a huge
gift,’ he says.
‘This has been a long time coming, but we have all pulled together and made
it happen,’ says community engagement worker at The Brink, Damien Kelly. ‘The
recovery community has such passion, and with that comes activism – we are a
long way off the recovery communities of the USA where they are out, loud and
very proud, but we are definitely moving towards that with social inclusion and de-
stigmatisation. I’m very happy to share my own experience of recovery with those
who want to hear it, but we still have many people who are fearful of visible
recovery. The Brink is clearly changing that.’
Susan, another customer, says, ‘I’ve had 21 years of addiction and alcoholism
and now have nearly two years total abstinence. It’s great to be able to come here
and feel part of something bigger. The great thing about The Brink is that we can
party without being off our heads, and we can also just chill like any other
customer and no one can tell who is an addict and who isn’t in here. It really does
break down those barriers of stigma – in here I'm just a valued customer eating
my lunch and drinking my hot chocolate. I really love it and the staff are great role
models. I even saw someone have their 15th recovery birthday party in here the
other night – now that was really something.’
To conclude, I’ll say that the man who killed my brother in 1992 needed help.
He’d had four previous convictions for the same offence of drink driving, and
maybe if he’d had a place like The Brink my brother would not have died.
But we are here now, and many people around the country are coming to see us
and asking us to franchise, so I’m sure we will be creating many more opportunities
to save and support the lives of others very soon, as any profits from the social
enterprise go directly back to Action on Addiction and pay for treatment opportunities
for those unable to afford them. We also have a huge debt of gratitude to the
Department of Health and Liverpool PCT for getting behind us with this.
DDN
Jacquie Johnston-Lynch is head of service at SHARP Liverpool, an Action on
Addiction service
Left: from left to right, Carl
Alderdice, Jacquie Johnston-Lynch,
Tom Gill and Damien Kelly at The
Brink.
Far left: Phil behind the counter.
Below: Mandi, Alison, Colin and
Dave on a focus group site visit.