Our mission is to use the voices of those with lived experience to influence how services function and to change perceptions of addiction and recovery. |
whom have personal experience with addiction. Drawing on the voices of people affected by addiction across Essex, the assessment helped us shape and design new service specifications which directly reflected the needs and priorities of the recovery community.
Essex Recovery Foundation also played a direct role in evaluating the bids. Sitting alongside commissioners from Essex’ s Drug and Alcohol Public Health team, our team had an equal voice in scoring applications against communitydeveloped criteria.
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The Essex Recovery Festival offers a unique space for people to come together, have fun, share experiences, and celebrate community. The festival celebrates the power of music, creativity, and connection in recovery.
Bethany Teague, one of Essex Recovery Foundation’ s community researchers and a key voice in the process, shared her reflections:‘ The experience was both fascinating and inspiring. Sitting around that table, we weren’ t just observers – we were equals. Our voices, shaped by our community insights and lived experiences, carried weight. It was empowering to see how our perspectives were not only heard but actively influenced the outcome. There were moments where I spotted things others had missed, and scores were adjusted based on our feedback. It showed just how valuable our input was.’
Bethany also noted how encouraging it was to see bidders directly incorporate insights from the community research into their proposals. For example, from the feedback we’ d collected, the recovery community had highlighted the need for greater out-of-hours support. The chosen provider has responded by extending services into two weekday evenings and weekends, as well as launching a 24 / 7 online chat feature with AI-assisted support. Additionally, in response to calls for more inclusive access, especially for hard-to-reach groups, the provider has expanded to 28 outreach locations and introduced home visits for individuals unable to travel.
GROUNDBREAKING MODEL This groundbreaking model marks a fundamental shift in how public services can – and should – be designed. By placing lived experience at the centre of commissioning, Essex Recovery Foundation is not only shaping more effective and relevant services but is also challenging the status quo of top-down decision-making.
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Laurence Hickmott, chief executive officer of Essex Recovery Foundation, highlights the importance of creating safe spaces for people with experiences of addiction to feel comfortable to participate in this process:‘ It’ s important that we recognise that these groundbreaking achievements are not possible without the courage of those people who shared their experiences and ultimately trusted us to turn that insight into action. So much of this success belongs to our incredible community engagement team, who’ ve built meaningful relationships with people affected by addiction throughout Essex.’
BEYOND COMMISSIONING Our commitment to community empowerment goes far beyond commissioning. We run weekly recovery spaces across the county: safe, welcoming environments where people can connect, share, and support one another. We’ re also proud to host the annual Essex Recovery Festival, which is taking place from 8 to 10 August – a vibrant, sober celebration that brings together individuals in recovery and allies from all walks of life.
Most recently, we launched the Essex Recovery Fund, a unique, community-led grant programme that supports grassroots projects created by people in recovery, for people in recovery, and voted on by the recovery community itself. It’ s yet another example of how we’ re aiming to flip traditional models on their head and prove that lived experience is not just valuable – it’ s vital.
We believe that what’ s happening in Essex is more than a local success story – it’ s a blueprint for how communities across the UK could rethink recovery, inclusion, and public health. As the results continue to speak for themselves, one thing is clear. When you give people with lived experience the power to lead, real change follows.
Jordon Field is head of strategy and communications at Essex Recovery Foundation www. essexrecoveryfoundation. org
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