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March 2013 |
drinkanddrugsnews
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Exhibition and groups
‘It was my first conference, so I met a lot
of new people from all over the country
from various different sides of the recovery
world. People from the NHS demonstrated
they really want to listen to us and that
was inspiring and very welcome indeed.
During the workshop on how to sustain a
community group, I heard a lot of
inspirational people and I made further
connections. Hopefully, I'm going to make
use of such great ideas about getting
partner organisations involved in our
projects. I'm looking forward to the next
conference where we can show our
achievements.’
Fabio, Lancashire User Forum (LUF)
‘What was really special for me is that
among the 32 attending from LUF were
individuals who come from all over
Lancashire, representing various treatment
services and recovery pathways – also people
who now work for competing treatment
providers. Yet when we represent Lancashire
User Forum we are one, united in the vision
of working together and moving forward.’
Kerry Stewart, Building Recovery in
Communities coordinator
‘It was a great day of unity with service users
and services coming together. I’m looking
forward to theWorld Service User conference,
organised by DDN. There was some great
feedback from peers throughout the day, in
particular a group from Northern Ireland
that are rolling out naloxone training and
have set up a recovery café.’
Neil, Swanswell SU
‘I’m new to all this but I was completely
blown away that everyone was working
together, service users and services, to
combat addiction.’
Adam, Swanswell SU
‘It was a good experience to walk around
and see the different stands on the day…
there’s such a lot of people out there who
have had substance misuse problems.
There were many organisations on the day,
too many to remember, but they started
from sheltered accommodation to drop-in
centres for people to have something to
eat, meet people and get them off the
streets. We agreed it was important for
people to know that, because some people
go through bad periods in life, they’re not
just pushed aside and forgotten.’
Eamon, Swanswell SU
‘The LUF guys were really inspiring. Seeing
the way that they have a voice, and how
they engage with local services, makes us
determined to move our local forum on to
the next level.’
Mel Birkill, Datus
‘I loved meeting all the different groups
from all over the country, and being able to
share people’s recovery. An event like that
gives you a boost and makes you want to
carry on. There are more people in recovery,
who we hope will inspire others to join us. It
just seems to be getting better and better.’
Stephen Williams, peer mentor, CAIS
‘The conference was invigorating, and
really enthused me. It was really
informative and we met loads of people
that I hope to stay in touch with. The
workshop on setting up and running a
group was great and reinforced our belief
that what we are doing here is right. All of
this and a free massage too!’
Robert Howarth, New Roots Drop-in
Centre, Cumbria
‘It was a great day. To hear the news from
all of the different groups, and see all the
stuff that they have going on like bands
and choirs made us want to work to
incorporate stuff like that within our group.
There was a real attitude of everyone
working together, sharing not competing.’
Steve Dixon, Changes, Birmingham
‘The DDN conference was a great place to
meet other forum users from all over the
country and to connect with some
fabulous people that we would otherwise
not have had a chance to meet. It was
informative and we heard some very
inspirational life journeys. We want to
continue with the success we are achieving
and attract others into recovery and show
that recovery is achievable, sustainable
and clearly visible.’
Rose Latham, Red Rose Recovery and
member of Lancashire User Forum (LUF)
‘The place was buzzing like a bee hive,
building their homes and lives for the
future. It was absolutely brilliant to
experience. It was a little scary at first,
meeting so many people – over 500 people
attended the event. Off I went, mooching
and mingling, doing the advertising and
promoting thing. I had so much fun
meeting so many new faces and a few
people I had already met and interviewed
for UK Recovery Radio.
Over lunch we were blessed with a
service user-led group who performed
some well-known songs and gave us a
relaxing and fun atmosphere. We then had
a mad flash-mob dance organised by
SUGAR – me and Humphrey plus about 20
others decided to get up and have a go.
There was definitely murder on the dance
floor… we were just stomping on each
other’s feet… it was brilliant.’
Jaine Mason, UK Recovery Radio rep and
SU rep