How Blackpool Recovery Hub is making a difference

A vital service in Blackpool offering support for people recovering from addictions has staged a special event to highlight the impact it has been having.

Blackpool Recovery Hub opened in May last year in premises at 258 Church Street, as a welcoming, non-judgemental space for people recovering from alcohol, drug and gambling addictions.

To mark National Recovery Month today it was also an opportunity to announce Blackpool as the first location in the North West to sign up to the Inclusive Recovery Cities Charter.

The Hub offers a wide range of holistic recovery services and community re-integration programmes to help build fulfilling futures.

The dedicated drop-in facility chose National Online Recovery Day (22 Sep), which occurs during the UK’s National Recovery Month, to help shine an important spotlight on the people, stories and support behind its pioneering service.

This event also brought together recovery professionals, community organisations, local partners and people with lived experience who regularly visit the Hub, to celebrate how recovery is happening across Blackpool.

For some, The Hub has been a place to find support and much-needed advice on everything from housing and health to employment and community reconnection.

For others, it’s a place to make friends, learn new skills, regain confidence or simply have somewhere safe to go with no appointment or referral needed.

Everyone is welcome and is assessed on a case by case basis by Hub Manager Brian Simpson and his experienced team, but they must be seeking recovery or already in active recovery.

Brian’s professional career has been shaped by more than 25 years of personal experience of alcohol and drug addiction.

This lived experience, combined with his education, volunteering and professional background, gives him a unique perspective on recovery and means he understands first-hand the difficulties of addiction, the impact of setbacks and the challenges involved in navigating support services.

Brian said: “It really lights me up to see how the Hub has helped so many people but the greatest credit has to go to the people who come through that door for help.

“It takes real courage for many people to accept they need support and to face things. I know one person who walked past that door four times trying to pluck up the courage to come in.

“I’ve been lucky enough to see people take real journeys to recovery. I know what it’s like and how difficult it can be.”

Blackpool is now the first setting in the North West to sign the Inclusive Recovery Cities Charter – joining the UK’s 17 current locations in Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland.

Leading expert in recovery and addiction, Professor David Best, helped develop the Inclusive Recovery Cities concept and attended Tuesday’s event, along with Empowerment Charity CEO, Mike Crowther, to celebrate Blackpool’s new status.

Professor Best said: “It is my great pleasure to welcome Blackpool as an Inclusive Recovery City and to be a part of this achievement.

“The team at Empowerment and their partners have long been at the forefront of recovery innovation and impact in the UK, and it is fitting that their ground-breaking work and their commitment to community engagement are acknowledged in this way.

“Blackpool has been a leading innovator in recovery and community building for many years and IRC status will further strengthen that growth and commitment to build recovery, engage community and generate cohesion and active civic participation.”

The Recovery Hub is a key part of Blackpool’s Inclusive Recovery City journey, with the town now developing the UK’s first Recovery Strategy, which is led by the Public Health team at Blackpool Council in partnership with people with lived experience, communities and organisations working across the recovery sector.

Laura Braithwaite, Strategic Lead: Changing Futures and Recovery at Public Health, Blackpool Council, said the Hub has become an important part of the town’s recovery community: “The launch of the Blackpool Recovery Hub marked a significant milestone in their journey and represents a major step forward for recovery in the town.

“Our vision is to strengthen Blackpool as a recovery-oriented community; one that challenges outdated narratives, celebrates success, and demonstrates that people do recover in Blackpool and that recovery is thriving.”

Councillor Matthew Thomas, Cabinet Member for Communities and Wellbeing at Blackpool Council, added: “The success of Blackpool Recovery Hub over the past year shows the incredible difference that can be made when organisations, communities and people with lived experience come together with a shared purpose.

“The stories we have heard today are a powerful reminder that recovery is about much more than overcoming addiction. It is about restoring hope, strengthening relationships and helping people realise their full potential.”