By John Baron
More support is urgently needed for people in Leeds with substance use disorders, councillors in Leeds have been told.
Chris Sylvester, of Armley, is in recovery for substance abuse and appealed to a full Leeds City Council meeting for more priority to be given to peer-led recovery organisations when distributing funding to combat drug misuse and crime.
He told all 99 councillors yesterday (Wednesday, 15 January) that more spaces should be opened and dedicated to hosting those in need of support in their recovery and progression into employment.
Mr Sylvester founded Getting Clean, which aims to ameliorate drug misuse issues and reoffending across Leeds but carries out most of its work in priority neighbourhoods such as Armley and Holbeck.
He told the meeting: “I first used heroin at the age of 12. Growing up I felt different to everyone else. I believed that there was something missing, something wrong with me. Since finally finding recovery and being clean for over seven years, I have come to find that other addicts felt the same as I did.
“There is a common route problem and it can only be solved collectively through peer-to-peer support. Without this authentic connection, service users will continue to feel alienated and be prone to relapse and overdoses.”
Around 300,000 adults use drug and alcohol addiction services each year in the UK.
“This number is rising, along with the crime, death and unemployment related to problematic drug use,” Mr Sylvester added. “Anybody walking through Leeds centre can see that problematic drug use and homelessness is worsening.
“Addiction has an appetite for moral values, decaying every aspect of an individual’s life and leading to a spiritual void. Rates of reoffending and homelessness continue to rise. Generally, the support/rehabilitation services available to vulnerable addicts are fragmented and riddled with obstacles caused by a cultural misunderstanding of addiction.
“There is still a lot of stigma and misunderstanding of addiction issues. The underlying causes are complex and alien to those without lived experience of addiction.
“The growing consensus in the fields of addiction research and social policy is that addiction is both a social and environmental issue which needs to be tackled through community initiatives which draw on people’s lived experience.”
He said Getting Clean started as a volunteer community project but quickly grew into a full-time social enterprise, providing ethical products and services in a peer-to-peer support model, engaging over 100n volunteers and providing meaningful peer-to-peer support to more than 50 recovering addicts
Ms Sylvester added: “Despite the massive demand for our services and the exponential impact that our project could offer, we are struggling to attain funding and we are not able to find suitable premises to work from.
“Getting Clean has established a solid business plan based on social value, ethical products and services. We aim to get social investment and become financially autonomous. However, there are growing numbers of other LEROs and grassroots organisations that are struggling to grow in the current situation.
“For this reason, we would like to make the request for:
- More priority to be given to peer-led recovery organisations when distributing funding to combat drug misuse and crime
- More spaces to be opened and dedicated to hosting those in need of support in their recovery journey and progression into employment
- More collaboration between Leeds City Council and the commissioned service providers in the area of addiction recovery. This includes mechanisms to ensure that referral routes are open and inclusive between different organisations, and that collaboration is prioritised over contrasting business incentives
“The benefits of this would extend far beyond the immediate assistance to recovering individuals; it represents an investment in the health and wellbeing of the Leeds community, with potential for significant long-term social and economic benefits.”
My Sylvester who was joined by three other Getting Clean representatives, received a standing ovation from many councillors at the Leeds Civic Hall meeting.
Leeds City Council will formally respond to the deputation.
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