Former drug and alcohol users celebrated their recovery at a garden party held by a charity which helped them get clean.
Rehabilitation centre The Core Trust, in Marylebone, welcomed in former users of the service to its annual party held at its headquarters in the Lisson Cottages last Thursday (June 19).
About 50 former and current service users, staff and volunteers attended and enjoyed food, live music and tombola at the same time as celebrating the charity’s 29 years of helping people in the area with addiction.
Former addict and mother-of-two Olivia, told how the trust helped her kick her addictions. She said: “I’d been struggling with various addiction problems from a young age and became a heroin user. I started my treatment at The Core Trust in 2010, and now I have been clean of drugs and alcohol for three years.
“Coming to Core was the beginning of my journey. For years I had lost all sense of my potential. Life was about surviving, and the decisions I made were dictated by my addiction. It felt like I had destroyed a part of me, but by coming to The Core Trust, something in me was awoken again. I felt like the people here really wanted the best for me and my children. The Core kicked me back into living again, and not just me but also my children.”
Founded in 1985 by Jackie Leven, the late songwriter and musician, and his partner Carol Wolf, The Core Trust started out as a way of dealing with their own addiction by creating a place where change happens.
Since 2007 it has been part of the London-wide charity, Westminster Drug Project (WDP), and offers a range of abstinence-based rehabilitation programmes while specialising in direct support to the families and children of those attending the centre.
Lynn Turner, service manager at The Core Trust, added: “The Core Trust has been operating for many years now and we are very proud of all the success we have achieved over those years. Our annual garden party is a fantastic way to see many of our former and current service users, and it’s a chance for us to celebrate our clients’ recovery. The party is a family get-together where people from the wider community can come and experience what Core is about.”
