Staff need to know the way relationships work in small communities, what stigma looks like in a small town... |
come over for tea and a chat and sometimes that’ s all it is. Sometimes, once they’ ve worked out who we are, it turns into something else, but the point of being there is that nobody |
has to make a decision to come and see us. We’ re just there, alongside the other services, on a day people were going to be at the market anyway.
This kind of relationship build ing can also be seen with our peer workers- staff with their own experiences of alcohol or drugs- who are central to how the part nership operates. Recovery worker Henry Mackley first walked through the doors of our Ludlow branch early in 2023, as a client struggling after years of alcohol use.
‘ How I ended up in that building is now a bit of a blur,’ he says.‘ I can’ t remember if I referred myself or came through my GP, but once inside I found
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Service administrator Beth Petersohn and recovery worker Ellie Milner. Since 2016, WithYou has been delivering the Shropshire Recovery Partnership – staffed by people from the area who are passionate about delivering for their local communities.
that for the first time in my life I was amongst people who didn’ t judge me, and allowed me to feel heard. Knocking on that door was one of the hardest things I’ d ever done. Reaching out for help and saying to a stranger“ I can’ t do this on my own” wasn’ t easy. But it probably saved my life.’
NOWHERE TO HIDE Henry has spent most of his life in Ludlow, and says that it’ s a‘ tightknit community, where everyone seems to know everyone else – or at the very least they know someone who knows you. Communities like this can be incredibly supportive, but when you’ re struggling with addiction they can also feel very exposing-
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there are few places to hide.
‘ I know the pubs, as I’ ve been kicked out of most of them at one point or another,’ he continues.‘ I know the people, I know how Ludlovians whisper and how their curtains twitch. But I also know how strong the recovery community is in places like this. I live it in my work life and in my personal life. Whilst I don’ t wear recovery like a badge of honour, I don’ t hide anything anymore. I attend AA in Ludlow, I run SMART recovery groups at work- we’ ve got each other’ s phone numbers and we’ ve got each other’ s backs.’
This couldn’ t have been done without the support of our partners and community – from GPs and pharmacies, councils and the police, to the wellbeing teams and the recovery community.
Together, we’ ll keep learning and growing to make sure that anyone who needs treatment will get it, wherever in the county they happen to live.
Robin Pollard is head of policy at WithYou
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