Each year in September, services that support people with substance use issues have an opportunity to celebrate people’s achievements through ‘Recovery Month’.

Alcohol Services, in Leeds has used Recovery Month as an opportunity to showcase its work in several different ways, including activities with partner organisations.

On 7 September, recovery-based services in Leeds, including Recovery Runners and the Forward Leeds 5-ways service, as well as Alcohol Services, joined together to celebrate recovery at the Woodhouse Moor Parkrun event. As well as publicising the work of recovery services in the city, clients and staff had opportunities to run or walk the 5k event, or volunteer as marshals. Marie, Lorraine and Sabina clapped and cheered the runners and walkers on, which included the Alcohol Services’ Manager, Jonathan.

Over the course of the month, the service has been able to celebrate the completion of the residential rehab programme of 7 of our clients. Ollie, Stewart, Mhari and Nathan, [pictured with their certificates of completion], and Lorrain, Nasreen and Mark [pictured with their certificates of completion], who were joined by family and friends to receive their certificates of completion, and as part of this event, there were opportunities for each of them to reflect on their recovery journeys. All of them talked about the positive support provided by other clients, with Ollie saying, ‘The strongest glue that’s kept me held together… is the connection and the community.’

Mhari spoke of her time, saying ‘The best analogy for me is a mosaic… We arrive splintered, shattered and fragmented. We leave here continuing to put the pieces back together and we will add many more new pieces. We will always be a work in progress… but we are starting to sparkle and shine again.’

During September, the service has encouraged their talented clients to create Recovery-themed artwork to inspire others. Now adorning the walls at Alcohol Services, some of the artwork is pictured here.

Mark has been inspired so much by his newfound gift for art that he has signed up for an art course at a local college.

Although September has been a special reason to celebrate recovery, here we will go on celebrating recovery every month as we continue to applaud clients in their achievements.