Community Voice - An Overview
Community Voice headed to Colchester for a SOLD-OUT event on Thursday 5th March - here’s what was discussed!
On Thursday 5th March, over 100 people gathered at the beautiful Colchester Arts Centre for the latest Community Voice event hosted by the Essex Recovery Foundation.
For the first time ever, the event sold out, highlighting the continued growth of the Essex recovery community and the increasing desire for people to come together, share their experiences and help shape meaningful change across drug and alcohol services in the county.
Community Voice exists to ensure that lived experience sits at the centre of decision-making. The turnout in Colchester showed just how important it is for people to have spaces where their voices can be heard and where their experiences can directly influence research, services and policy change.
Children & Young People Needs Assessment
One of the key moments of the day came from the Community Researchers at the Essex Recovery Foundation, who shared updates on a major research project that has taken over a year to complete: the Children & Young People Needs Assessment.
This research explores substance use, treatment, and recovery needs for children and young people across Essex. The project set out to answer several important questions:
What are the trends in children and young people’s substance use in Essex?
What is working well (and what isn’t) in prevention, education, treatment, and recovery?
What do young people think and feel about substance use and what influences their choices?
What changes are needed to better support them?
Reflecting on the importance of this work, Mark Munday, Regional Manager at The Children’s Society, said:
“Conducting this needs assessment matters. It means listening, truly listening, to young people and those who work alongside them every day. It means recognising the realities of an ever-changing world and responding with compassion, evidence and action. For staff and partners across Essex, this report is more than data; it’s a roadmap for collaboration and improvement.“
We will be sharing the full report, its findings, and our recommendations for change very soon, and we’re excited to continue the conversation about how Essex can better support young people.
Voices of Recovery
We were also privileged to hear from the Voices of Recovery volunteers, who courageously shared their personal stories of addiction and recovery.
Alongside their stories, they asked the room two powerful questions:
What does it feel like when you’re not heard?
What would empower people to share their voice?
These questions sparked honest and thoughtful discussion across the room, reminding us how important it is to create environments where people feel safe, valued and able to speak openly.
A huge thank you to Mike, Phil, Kath and Steph for giving up their time to share their experiences and inspire the group. If you’d be interested in becoming a Voices of Recovery volunteer, we’re hosting our next Public Speaking workshop on Wednesday 6th May (running every Wednesday for six weeks). You can register your interest in the course here.
Shaping Future Research
Community Voice is about influencing real change.
During the event, attendees voted on potential research topics that are currently being considered by the Essex Drug & Alcohol Treatment System. Two themes stood out as particularly important:
How people affected by substance use experience and understand mental health
Co-producing and piloting addiction awareness training for local GPs
These priorities reflected the conversations happening throughout the day. Many people shared experiences of being unable to access mental health support because they were not yet sober, while also finding it difficult to access addiction treatment due to ongoing mental health challenges.
Others spoke about delays when accessing GP appointments and a broader feeling that addiction and substance misuse are not always well understood in primary care settings.
All of this feedback will be shared with the research group, and we will keep the community updated as this work progresses.
You can read more from our Community Research team here.
From Volunteer to Community Leader
We also heard an inspiring story from Amy Berry, who spoke about her journey with the Essex Recovery Foundation.
Amy began as a volunteer with Essex Recovery Foundation and is now the proud manager of Cornerstone Cafe - our permanent recovery cafe in the heart of Chelmsford. She shared her vision for the café as a welcoming space for the community: “A place where people feel that they belong… somewhere they feel at home”.
Cornerstone is open Monday to Friday, 7am-4pm. Pop in and say hi to Amy and the team! You’ll find them at 15-21 Rainsford Road, Chelmsford, CM1 2XL.
Thank You to Everyone Who Attended
The sold-out Community Voice event showed the passion and commitment of the Essex recovery community - and our collective desire for change. Bringing together over 100 people with lived experience, professionals, volunteers and supporters created a powerful space for conversation, learning and collaboration.
Thank you to everyone who attended, contributed and shared their voice.
