Your experience can help change things.
Wednesday 21 October 2026
10:30am–3:00pm
The Hive, High Street, Rayleigh, SS6 7QA
Sign up here
If you have experience of addiction, recovery or drug and alcohol services in Essex, Community Voice is a chance to have your say about what needs to change and help shape what happens next.
It’s a space to bring your experiences, ideas and frustrations, hear from others across Essex and be part of conversations that can influence real decisions about local services.
You don’t need any previous experience, and you don’t need to know anything about how services are commissioned. You can come along, listen, contribute as much or as little as you feel comfortable with, and meet other people who care about making things better.
Why come along?
Community Voice gives you the opportunity to:
Have your voice heard by the people involved in shaping drug and alcohol services in Essex
Influence real change by sharing what works, what doesn’t and what you think is missing
Hear what people are experiencing in different communities across the county
Help decide priorities for future work, resources and funding
Meet other people with lived experience and a shared interest in improving support across Essex
Community Voice meets every three months and sits at the heart of how Essex Recovery Foundation brings lived experience into decisions about local drug and alcohol services.
Research gathered by our community researchers is brought into the forum alongside the experiences and ideas of people attending, helping the group identify priorities and decide where change is needed.
Who can come?
Everyone is welcome. You might be in recovery, have experience of addiction or services, support someone who does, work in the sector, or simply care about making drug and alcohol support better in Essex.
Need help getting there?
If you're travelling from Basildon, Harlow, Colchester, Clacton, Chelmsford or Grays, we've organised free shared transport to Community Voice.
