Brendon Sorby, Ellen Pierce Price, Marion Armstrong and Lynda Maguire, Wesley Dixon, Pam Hill, Martin Morley, and Paul O'Connor

Exceptional Contribution Award 

Brendon Sorby (Rotherham) 

Brendon is a dedicated and valued volunteer within the Rotherham Drug and Alcohol Services. He consistently supports both staff and clients, going above and beyond in all areas of service delivery. Brendon has contributed across multiple roles, including reception cover, medical appointments, and one-to-one client support. Despite feeling nervous, he effectively supported the admin team during staff shortages, managing phones, taking referrals, and liaising with professionals. He has more recently been tasked to support within the Shared Care Scheme which includes supporting clients within a primary care setting.  Brendon has delivered work in a ‘client focused’ way which has had an impact on client health and well-being. Brendon’s willingness to learn, adaptability, and team spirit have made him a key part of the service. His ability to draw from personal experience also strengthens his support for those in early recovery. 

Client Impact 

Ellen Pierce Price (Scunthorpe) 

Ellen has been a continuous support to the WAWY client community in Scunthorpe. Her dedication knows no bounds and she has supported and encouraged a multitude of clients in a multitude of ways. Ellen has been a dedicated volunteer for over nine years, and brings not only her time but her heart, humour, and lived experience into every space she steps into. Ellen consistently works in a client-centred way through one-to-one sessions or in a group, always focusing on what individuals need in the moment. She listens with empathy, offers her own experiences with honesty, and gently empowers clients to see their own potential. Her authenticity builds trust and people feel safe around her, and that safety creates space for real growth and change.  

Marion Armstrong and Lynda Maguire (Glasgow North East) 

Marion and Lynda embody the spirit of compassion and generosity and show up twice a week for the clients and the staff at the Glasgow North East Hub. Together, they run a therapeutic walking group for women which provides a safe space while offering genuine support and connection, and allows women to connect with others in recovery. Marion and Lynda provide a steady and friendly presence at the hub, from helping at reception by letting staff know their appointments have arrived and offering teas and coffees to clients, to helping out to prepare and serve lunches to clients who attend the group work programme. They both help make sure that the clients are happy and the service runs smoothly. 

Staff Impact 

Wesley Dixon (Shropshire) 

Wes facilitated SMART Recovery while the Group Facilitator was on a Training Course. Wes quickly advised that he is not SMART Recovery trained however, he offered to lead the group and do a brief intervention instead, following the check in. Wes brainstormed different interventions he could do and felt comfortable with. He was open to suggestions of activities and independently researched how to encourage people to talk about their health. Wes was supported by the staff at the North Team in printing materials and getting the room prepared. He showed great adaptability, setting boundaries by identifying what he could and could not do and using his initiative to research activities that could engage the clients. Wes is always willing to support with groups, support events and is supportive to clients on their journeys.  

Pam Hill (Wigan) 

Pam is a real asset at WAWY’s women only prehab in Wigan. The feedback from staff and clients at the prehab is always positive about Pam and she is always keen, optimistic and so helpful. Pam always jumps at the chance to support both clients and staff, and is always willing to learn new things. Staff have fed back that she has a desire to help others and never wants anything in return. During a recent service meeting, Pam confidently supported a presentation to the whole of the Wigan and Leigh staff team that outlined the recovery options available to clients, the groups, programmes and courses available, and the benefits of these projects for clients. Pam is hard working and always put the needs of others first. 

Service Impact 

Martin Morley (Wigan) 

Martin identified, through his own experience, that there was limited support for people who were going into one of the local inpatient detox units. Martin proposed a fantastic opportunity to link up the Wigan and Leigh WAWY Team with the detox unit to offer support and encouragement. Martin acted as a link between WAWY and the detox unit to ensure clients and staff were fully informed of what was available to them. Martin developed this into a much more streamlined and individual approach with clients, and spends one-to-one time with clients considering or waiting for detox. Martin is also a regular co-facilitator on the weekly MAP group, which has seen increasing numbers of people attending. Martin’s positivity, adaptability, personality and solution-focused approach have really added value to the service provided at Wigan and Leigh. Martin does all of this whilst also working shifts, and he never misses a day of volunteering. 

Paul O’Connor (Shropshire) 

Paul is relatively new to volunteering, following his own treatment, but soon became a well-established member of the team. He is a really happy, smiley addition to the team and makes clients feel at ease when they first enter the service. Paul has established a ‘Meet and Greet’ process for him to greet people in reception and help to give a warm welcome, and is a listening ear or share his own experience to support others. Paul has also given a talk to a local Partnership agency during Naloxone training which really brought the delivery to life and aided with breaking down barriers and stigma. He is always happy to help and his positive and compassionate manner is well received by all who meet him. 

Compassionate 

Carolanne Hamilton – Glasgow North West 

Carolanne has been a volunteer at the service for a number of years and is an asset to the team. She has co-facilitated a range of groups and built excellent relationships with staff, senior management and clients alike. She is trustworthy, honest, reliable, compassionate and has a strong sense of social justice. Carolanne offers the women at the service a safe space each week, sharing her own story and treating them with dignity. The women look up to her as an example of how recovery can be achieved and her insight from her own experiences is highly valued by the service. Carolanne has a great way with people and is very approachable, nothing is too much trouble for her. 

Glenda Morris – Shropshire 

Glenda has been a volunteer since June 2022 and has dedicated over 50 hours of her time to the service in the past year alone. She is a previous client of the service and celebrated 8 years of sobriety this year. Glenda offers emotional support to clients at the service, especially new members who feel overwhelmed, and is proactive in discussing ways to manage their triggers. Clients feel comfortable around her and open up to her, which Glenda always remembers to incorporate back in to conversations with them when she sees them next. She is the service’s longest serving volunteer and is the friendly face that greets clients, sharing her own experiences to encourage them to engage in treatment. 

Mary Lawford – Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 

Mary supports the Carers Support Group in Bournemouth, giving up her evenings every fortnight to be on hand with comforting words and tales of her experiences as a mother of a previous substance user. She greets everyone like they are an old friend, giving hope to parents in the group that their loved ones can get better. Mary is an all-round volunteer, from spending time in the kitchen preparing refreshments to engaging with the public to help spread the word about the work of WAWY. She is able to be compassionate and show empathy to parents with her personal lived experience, which is priceless. Now in her 70s and showing no signs of slowing down, Mary is an inspiration to all! 

Determined 

Darren Fox – Rotherham 

Darren currently supports the running of three groups a week at the service and is always available to lend a listening ear in reception, completing all his tasks with a high level of professionalism. He is eager to learn and get involved with any area of the service, making sure he asks lots of questions to fully understand what is required of him. Darren has been key to the set up and running of the service’s walking group, offering snippets of local history as they go to make the group more interesting. Clients have reported that they feel understood and inspired by Darren’s determination for an inclusive and interactive service. He demonstrates passion and commitment to his role and is an asset to the team. 

Emma Lewis – Scunthorpe 

Emma exemplifies dedication and perseverance in her volunteering and is committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for clients. She fosters an environment of open dialogue and thoughtful debate, encouraging diverse perspectives and never hesitating to ask the hard questions that drive progress and positive change. Emma is always keen to develop her knowledge and skills and offers unwavering support to clients, while never sugarcoating the realities of their situation. She has worked hard on her own recovery journey and her experiences are appreciated by not only the clients, who feel at ease when she is in their sessions, but by the recovery workers too.  

Jonathan Woods – Cornwall 

Jonathan has volunteered with the administration team for nearly 5 years, battling with his own health conditions to attend the service every week and offer support wherever he is needed. He knew that he wanted to support the organisation, but did not feel confident in a client-facing role, so instead has become the backbone of the office team. Jonathan assists with office checks and restocks, takes out the recycling and keeps things organised and tidy, which is a saving grace to this busy (often understaffed) service. Jonathan brings a positive attitude to his volunteering role, and puts 100% into everything he is asked to do – the team would not be able to do half of what they do without him.  

Professional 

Juljia Nepokrytykh – Learning and Development Team 

Juljia is the first volunteer within the Learning and Development Team and has brought energy, dedication and professionalism to the role. She has been proactive from the outset, engaging thoughtfully with her work and always ensuring that what she does aligns with the values of WAWY. Her reliability and attention to detail have made her a trusted member of the learning content team and she has had a positive impact on the team’s capacity, helping to free up staff time to focus on other projects. Juljia has set a great example of the value that volunteers can bring to the Learning and Development Team, and her role is due to be replicated as a result. 

Nicole Cooper – Wigan and Leigh 

Nicole is a volunteer leading groups where she was once a member. This can be a challenging role, as boundaries can be difficult to navigate for people who were once members of these groups for support themselves, but Nicole faces the challenge with a positive and hardworking attitude. She is able to come across as both friendly and professional, adapting her approach when moving between interacting with staff and supporting clients. Nicole is constantly learning to develop her skills, and has the potential to be one of the highest-achieving volunteers at the service. 

Sinead Fletcher – Liverpool 

Sinead has supported the development of a feedback process for clients accessing counselling at the service. She has brought fresh ideas, innovative ways of working and has been consistently organised and reliable. Sinead has contributed valuable insight and experience to development meetings and worked with clients in a respectful and non-judgmental way. She packs in so much to the few hours she has with the service each week, ensuring that she is professional in her approach while also reassuring clients so that they feel supported and reassured in their time at the service. Sinead also took part in an interview panel, sharing her experiences as a volunteer to encourage others to volunteer. 

Outstanding Achievement 

Carol Dawson and Kathryn Sowden – Redcar and Cleveland  

Carol and Kathryn are both so professional and compassionate towards clients and have hearts of gold. They have been volunteering with the service for a number of years and always have clients at the forefront of their volunteering. Together, they run the ‘Warm Space’ at the service, providing an environment that offers hope and demonstrates that there is a life worth living beyond addiction. They raise awareness of the work of WAWY far and wide, and have built connections with local organisations to help signpost clients to additional services they might need. Clients and staff alike value their support and contributions to the service, which would not be the same without them. 

Tracy Spencer, Meg Eagles, Lauren Gallagher, John Wilkinson, and Kaye Hart

Collaborative – Volunteer: Tracy Spencer, North Lincolnshire 

Tracy volunteers three days a week and is dedicated to giving her time and experience to help others develop and progress in their recovery. She is a comforting face for clients to see and inspires all she works with, both in group and one-to-one sessions. Her kind, caring and generous nature shines through and she openly shares her recovery story in the hope that it will encourage others. Tracy has set up a number of groups, including a walking group, and encourages new members to join as part of their recovery journey. She not only supports clients, but staff and other volunteers, and the service would not be the same without her input. 

Inspiring – Volunteer: Meg Eagles, Lancashire Young People 

When her child was recovering from substance misuse, Meg was struggling and sought help from WAWY services. She now contributes her time to give back to the services that helped her through a difficult time. She engages with as many families as possible, using her own experiences to inform her support. Meg regularly speaks out about the need for services to help families understand addiction and develop effective strategies which support recovery, even offering to share her experiences with those in power to advocate for change at every level. She challenges people to consider the wider implications of addiction and the wider benefits of recovery, with her joy at her son’s ongoing journey forming a testament to the importance of support for the whole family through recovery from addiction. 

Self-Challenging – Volunteer: Lauren Gallagher, North Lincolnshire 

Lauren works with the Criminal Justice Team and continues to push herself and her development to ensure that she is providing the best possible support for all of the clients she works with and to reach her goal of becoming a Recovery Worker. She shares her own experiences of addiction and inspires others as a great advocate for Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous. Lauren has only been volunteering for a short time, but her knowledge and confidence have grown enormously and she has become a great asset to the service, often accompanying Recovery Workers to satellite clinics to gain experience of working directly with clients in a different setting. Her personal experience provides a motivation to clients that staff simply cannot and she brings a refreshing perspective to the service. 

Resilient – Volunteer: John Wilkinson, Wigan 

John began supporting the service as a Recovery Champion, before requesting to be put forward for further training to become a volunteer, putting his heart and soul into learning the role despite the challenging learning curve. He now supports the Rough Sleeper Team, working with complex and hard to reach clients, which is a challenging placement that comes with a high level of risk, and is utterly reliable, showing up no matter what is required of him. John is genuinely passionate about the welfare of the clients he works with and has recently helped set up a service user group which has helped the service engage with even more clients than they would usually be able to. He is an all-round inspiring person who uses his own recovery to help others, who may have otherwise stopped engaging with the service. 

Ethical – Volunteer: Kaye Hart, Wigan 

Kaye has volunteered with the service for over 10 years, working in many areas of the service including group facilitation, research, on reception, in one-to-one sessions and through training support. Kaye has built strong relationships with staff and is currently working to support the training and development of new volunteers and Recovery Champions. Kaye has been heavily involved with the service’s LGBTQ+ Support and Advocacy Group, openly sharing their own history of trauma and aiming to raise awareness around the needs of people going through similar challenges. Kaye is open and honest about their life experiences whilst managing to maintain firm professional and personal boundaries. Kaye has also built strong relationships with volunteers and peer mentors coming through the service and is happy to act as a point of contact and moral support during their introduction to the service. 

Toni Holmes, Caroline West, Ann Maguire, Stuart McDougall and Steve McDonald

South West – Toni Holmes, Bournemouth 

Toni is reliable, hard-working and puts clients at ease. She goes out of her way to help others and is a true team player. She covers the Needle Exchange, which can mean that she deals with challenging service users, something she does with a calm manner and makes time to speak to them. Toni completes her tasks with a smile on her face and is a cheerful and inspiring presence at the service. She takes time out of her busy role to help train new members of staff and welcome them to the organisation. Toni deals with clients in an empathetic, professional and warm way. She has been volunteering for 3 years and took a role on the frontline during the pandemic at a variety of locations where she was needed. She has a great knowledge of her client group and is very patient with chaotic and challenging clients. Toni is an inspiration to both old and new service users and staff members with her positive can-do attitude. 

North West – Carolyn Lamb – Liverpool North 

Carol has been through a great deal in her personal life but has also volunteered with the service for many years, building a great rapport with service users and sharing her experiences. She travels quite a distance to get to the office, but nothing is too much trouble for her and she supports staff with a variety of tasks, always willing to muck in and help with whatever is needed. The personal support she provides shows that she genuinely cares about her colleagues and this is reciprocated back to her by the team. She is a friendly and welcoming person, making service users feel welcomed and listened to and providing a visible face of recovery to encourage them that they can also get there. Throughout lockdown, Carol was a consistent presence for service users, supporting them through online sessions to keep them engaged with the service that is so vital to them.  

Scotland – Ann Maguire – Glasgow North West Recovery Hub 

Ann has been a volunteer at the Hub for around 6 years and is a well-valued member of the team. She is committed to her role and mainly volunteers in an administrative capacity. She really enjoys being the first point of contact for people coming into the Hub and is always smiling and approachable. Ann puts service users at ease and is efficient at taking phone calls and messages for staff, and at taking referrals and making sure the system is accurately up to date. She also completes all mandatory training for her role so that her knowledge is as up to date as possible. Ann is reliable, motivated and committed to her role, making her a huge asset to the service. She is very reliable, helpful and consistent, working to a high standard as an integral part of the team. 

South East – Stuart McDougall – ARC-Milton Keynes

Stuart is one of the best volunteers that the service has ever had and they say that they would be lost without him. He is also well liked by service users due to his approach to supporting groups and the knowledge that he brings. Stuart volunteers for the service throughout the week and receives nothing but praise from all who work with him and the service users that he comes into contact with. He works tirelessly to support the service and is reliable and dedicated. Stuart is a thoughtful and friendly volunteer. He is a friendly, thoughtful volunteer who gives up a great deal of his time to support the service and service users, who have nothing but positive things to say about him. 

North East – Steve McDonald– Redcar and Cleveland 

Steve, as a veteran and peer support mentor, has dedicated his own time following his own recovery to set up veteran specific pathways for the service. He has supported multiple veteran service users and ran the national online veterans MAP group for over a year. Alongside this, Steve supports other groups, attends networking meetings and works on the Naloxone programme, as well as working on reception. A few weeks ago, Steve secured a staff position with WAWY and it was felt that he should be recognised for his volunteering efforts leading up to his employment. 

Robert Millen, Chanelle West, Gary Saunders, Victoria Howson and Lisa Maddison

Scotland – Robert Millen 

Robert is a service user and volunteer at the North East Glasgow Recovery Hub. He has supported staff throughout the pandemic to deliver a successful online programme for groupwork and has been involved in co-facilitating and delivering a number of these group sessions. Robert started his own online group, ‘Cooking on a Budget’, which encourages participants to cook healthy meals together. He has remained a constant source of inspiration for colleagues and participants and was even involved in a successful tender application for the local area which means the Recovery Hub will be funded for another three years. 

North East – Chanelle West 

Chanelle is a volunteer at the Redcar and Cleveland service where she assists in the provision of person-centred, one-to-one counselling support to service users. She was due to start in March 2020, but when the pandemic started her role was put on hold. Chanelle remained resilient however and it is this attitude and her willingness to adapt to change which has proved invaluable in her volunteering role. She is a much-valued member of the team and genuinely wants people to have the opportunity talk freely in a safe space and, thanks to her commitment, this is something that the service is able to provide. 

North West – Gary Saunders 

Gary has volunteered at HMP Hindley in Wigan, where he discussed his personal story of drug use to 15 inmates in a series of small group sessions. The prison requested a volunteer to talk about their personal experiences of drug use after outbreaks of spice use in the prison and Gary was the perfect person for the job. Although the setting was daunting, Gary was confident, calm and held the inmates’ attention well. He was relatable, engaging and encouraging to the participants, and it was clear that his works got through to them and made a difference to their thought processes. The prison was so impressed with him that they have asked him to return and deliver more sessions in the future. 

South East – Victoria Howson

Victoria is an Honorary Assistant Psychologist with the Kent and Surrey Mental Health Services and, although she is new to the team, she has quickly demonstrated a high level of professionalism, competency and motivation in supporting the service. She has volunteered for the service whilst working in hospitals and studying for her future career. Victoria has supported staff at the service and the user research team with interview transcriptions which will help to improve the group therapy offer that the service provides. She is a reliable, friendly, focussed and highly skilled volunteer who has proved herself invaluable. 

South West –Lisa Maddison

Lisa has been volunteering with the Bournemouth service for around 2 years, starting her journey as a client before completing the peer mentoring course and the peer advocacy course. She has supported staff by co-facilitating the criminal justice support group and has undertaken training so that she can co-facilitate Mutual Aid Partnership groups, where those experiencing issues with addiction can come together to help one another. Lisa adapted well to the pandemic, overcoming her fears of virtual meetings to run her own online group in support of the LGBTQ+ community, which had not existed before the pandemic. Her enthusiasm and kindness, alongside her willingness to help others is phenomenal and she is really good at encouraging people to find the support they need.  

High Commended: Lorna Sandry and Chris May.

Tina Farrell, Kirsty Glossop, John Reilly, Steven McDonald and Beverley Bankole

South West 

Tina Farrell – Positive People, Cornwall 

Tina is an absolute inspiration to other Positive People clients, especially female service users. After more than 40 years living in chaos and destruction, she has arrived at a place of calm where she feels able to work with other women in recovery, who had had similar experiences to her. Despite lacking in confidence in her own self-worth, Tina continues to show her immense resilience and kept on growing and facing the obstacles that challenged her. She is supportive, knowledgeable and has the warmest heart and most infectious laugh. As a Volunteer Peer Mentor, she shares her enthusiasm for life and recovery to other survivors, has spoken with insight and compassion to a room of prisoners and prison staff, has co-facilitated a women’s only empowerment course, has co-facilitated a weekly self-care session for women and given hours of face to face and phone support. Throughout lockdown, Tina has continued to support the team online, delivering a weekly ‘virtual cuppa’ session for women. She is an example that there is nothing that cannot be achieved if it is something you really want, even in the darkest of days. Tina is reliable and is many clients’ go to person for advice and a friendly chat. She is now studying to become a Peer Mentor with the Women’s Centre, which will allow her to work specifically with women involved in the Criminal Justice System. 

North and West 

Kirsty Glossop – Shropshire Recovery Partnership 

Kirsty has come such a long way since joining the service, dealing with and sharing her past with courage. Currently, she is single-handedly taking on the volunteering responsibilities in Shropshire and proving the invaluable resource that volunteers and recovery champions are to the service. She is constantly willing to meet or phone service users who need support in addition to that they are receiving from their Keyworkers. Kirsty has produced a database detailing all support networks in the community and a leaflet for service users to take away for reflection after groups they attend. She is a true asset to the team; nothing is too much trouble and she is always willing to learn more and participate in activities. Kirsty is extremely professional in her attitude towards her role, her case notes are very thorough, and she pays close attention to avoid things getting confused. Throughout the pandemic, she has been part of the team continuing to go into the office and help keep the service running and she has also worked tirelessly from home. Kirsty is currently supporting the redesign of the detox treatment plan for recovery, as staff and managers have recognised her unique and diverse knowledge of what a service user needs during their recovery. She puts people at ease and guides service users through attending meetings. Kirsty is always honest about her past struggles and uses her deep empathy to support others looking to achieve recovery. 

Scotland 

John Reilly – Dundee 

John has been a volunteer for 6 years and his continued commitment, support and dedication to the Service and individuals is inspirational. He has had his own personal battles to face and is now giving back to the service after previously being a service user. John relishes the challenges and experiences of volunteering, is always willing to learn and expand his knowledge and has quickly become an integral team member. For the past 4 years, John has volunteered with the Community Hub where he works tirelessly to promote, underpin and enhance their work and makes time for everyone who walks through the door. He is happy to share his personal recovery journey and this has helped him to get through to some of the service’s most vulnerable clients and link them to the correct agencies. John works alongside project workers in many ways through one to one sessions with clients, completing recovery tools and acting as a buddy for those involved in community groups. Despite working full time, he unselfishly gives so much time and energy to volunteering, going above and beyond to help those most in need. John has raised large amounts for the Community Hub and We Are With You and is always looking for new fundraising ideas. He is a role model to staff, volunteers and all who use the service. 

North and East 

Steven McDonald – Redcar and Cleveland 

Steven entered treatment saying he would be “dead in the not too distant future” and worked hard throughout his recovery to get his life back together. As his treatment journey was coming to an end he said that he felt “some people think asking for help is a sign of weakness but it takes real courage to admit you have an issue and I want to help other people, I owe that to the service for giving me my life back”. Steven committed himself to the Recovery Champion Training and began attending groups to learn from others and begin to connect with service users. Having been in the armed forces, Steven co-set up a Veteran’s Group and learnt about the Right Turn Project so that he could network with other mutual aid groups. Throughout lockdown he phoned service users who had been in the armed forces to encourage them to keep in touch and talk about how they were feeling as well as use online services. He shows respect to anyone who uses the service and is an open book, sharing his story with humour and hope. Without his determination and commitment, the Veterans group would not be running. 

South East 

Beverley Bankole 

Bev transferred over as an existing Volunteer from Compass when we launched ARC MK with CNWL NHS Trust on 1st April. The service has had a challenging 6 months, implementing a new service, in a new partnership, in the middle of a global pandemic and there have been a lot of changes in terms of how the volunteer programme is running. Throughout Bev has demonstrated stoicism enthusiasm and commitment to volunteering with the service and her amazing abilities to engage with our service users and put them at ease as well as providing support and assistance to staff have shone through! 

As a recent example Bev has volunteered to contact service users who were on the caseload of a staff member who was off sick. She worked through the list of people quickly and efficiently and was observed to have a great rapport with service users, asking them great questions and dealing with any concerns/queries. She has also recently contacted clients who  were about to join a new alcohol group. She confirmed whether they were going to attend and provided support and answered queries to help reassure them. In both scenarios not only did Bev provide a great service to our service users but she also wrote up excellent notes which the service could use to put directly on to the case management system 

Lyndsey Barker, John Platt, Denise Briggs and Gill Melling, Severine Hobson, Iain Barnes, Paul McCutchen

North East – Lyndsey Barker

Lyndsey is a Recovery Champion and plays an active role in promoting how recovery is possible. She is dedicated to making the clients’ experience at the service a calm and informative one. She volunteers at Addaction three times a week, and also volunteers at a local homeless shelter where she encourages clients to seek support for their substance misuse. Lyndsey’s journey to recovery has not been a smooth one, but she has remained resilient and shares her story on a number of platforms to show people that there is a way out of addiction. Her end goal is to become a Recovery Worker and she is diligently learning all that she needs to by shadowing other Recovery Workers and gaining qualifications. Lyndsey assists in any way that she can and is an extremely valued member of the team.

North West – John Platt

John came to Addaction struggling with alcohol addiction many years ago, having been through rehab and detox numerous times in the past. When he suffered a rupture in his stomach due to alcohol abuse, he decided to turn his life around, gaining the courage to move out of the area and combat his addiction with Addaction’s help. Since then, he has become a full-time volunteer for Addaction, helping staff wherever he can and using his reassurance, knowledge and understanding to lead groups for men and women struggling with addiction. John is always eager to learn and ready to take on a challenge, including attending AA and NA meetings to help those in the wider community. He is determined, experienced and proud to be a volunteer for Addaction, one that is highly valued by staff and clients alike.

North West (Special Mention) – Denise Briggs and Gill Melling

Denise and Gill have volunteered with Addaction in Wigan and Leigh for over 5 years. They are at the service every day, supporting the group work programme, encouraging service users to get involved and facilitating groups in a friendly and welcoming manner. They come up with some innovative ideas for new group sessions including life skills, budgeting, cooking and creativity. Denise and Gill promote the service at every opportunity an act as advocates for service users with partner organisations to help them get the support that they need. They are an asset to the service which would not run in the same way without them.

South East – Severine Hobson

Severine started volunteering with the Young Person’s Service in March 2018, and since then has volunteered 2 days a week. She created a practical guide about what paperwork should be completed during treatment, and this has been shared with new starters and volunteers to help them with the early stages of service delivery. Severine has supported 9 young people through specialist treatment support so far and her conscientious and hard-working nature ensures that the young people she works with receive the best possible assistance. She works to the individual needs of the client, and was able to build up strong relationships with one hard to engage individual in particular. Severine was able to encourage him to disclose concerns about his mental health and the triggers he experiences and help him so that he has now finished his work with her, and is looking forward to the future with a renewed sense of self-esteem and positivity. Severine is truly committed and dedicated to the service, sometimes walking up to 2 miles for a client appointment as she does not have access to a car!

South West – Iain Barnes

Iain is a committed, professional and reliable volunteer with the Addaction Bournemouth service. He was street homeless prior to using Addaction’s services, and is now in the position where he is able to give something back to the organisation that helped him. Iain uses his talents for cooking in the kitchen at the Recovery Hub and inspires other to learn more about cooking. Having completed a number of programmes at Addaction, Iain is now part of a duo that delivers the weekly MAP programme to service uses. He has been instrumental in establishing and building on the Recovery Café’s environment at the service, which is a welcoming and friendly place to meet others in recovery and make new friends. Iain is passionate about helping people on their recovery journey in a friendly, caring and compassionate way, and without his dedication the service would not be able to deliver this help at such a high standard.

Scotland – Paul McCutchen

Paul has come through the service as a participant, become a Recovery Champion and is now a volunteer at the Glasgow North East Hub. He goes above and beyond to help the staff, participants, fellow peers and visitors alike. Paul took the lead of the Hub’s newsletter which is running well and supported the Community Engagement Coordinator to run a group which ensures that the Hub continues to evolve. He is also involved with the city-wide Recovery Oriented System of Care meetings and the North East Recovery Communities as their treasurer. He hopes to soon be able to shadow the recovery workers within Addaction with a view to having his own caseload in the future. Paul is a great role model to the participants and his fellow volunteers at the Hub, providing them the inspiration to achieve the goals that they have set for themselves.

Paris Holden, Les Chandler, Andrea Burns, Alan Bailey Banks and Alex Lumsden

South East – Paris Holden

Paris began volunteering with the Young Person’s Service in Kent in June 2017 after being shortlisted for a Specialist Treatment Practitioner post within the service. Despite preparing her thesis for her master’s degree in psychology, she committed four days a week to her role as a volunteer so that she could learn as much as possible before taking on her own caseload. Paris has positively represented the service since day one, taken advantage of all opportunities available to her and been self-motivated and committed to her role. She was so valued in the team that funding was found for a two-day role for her within the service and on top of this Paris continued to volunteer for a further two days. She is so committed to her role that she had to be encouraged to take two weeks to concentrate on finishing her thesis! In her time with the service, Paris has shown a clear passion in working to support vulnerable young people. She has been described as an asset to the service and a skilled and popular member of the team.

South West – Les Chandler

Les has been an inspiration to old and new Service Users, Recovery Champions and Volunteers and is a real asset to Addaction in North Somerset. He has represented the service on Open Days and in the House of Lords where he shared his Recovery Journey and his experiences of stigma while he had a dependency on heroin. Les’ volunteer experience covers many aspects of Addaction and he has been involved with most teams and supported a wide range of clients. He is also a Hepatitis C Peer Educator, raising awareness and encouraging people to get tested, which has helped increase the number of people accessing treatment. Les has a positive ‘can-do’ attitude and is supportive of all he comes into contact with. He is well respected by service users, staff and volunteers and his nominator has said that “he deserves the recognition of all support he has given to so many people whilst having his own challenges to deal with”.

Scotland – Andrea (Andy) Burns

Andy has volunteered with the North East Recovery Hub in Glasgow for the past year and has recently taken up a student placement within the service. She has been a real advocate for recovery and her belief in people to recover has been unwavering, her example encouraging people to show interest in becoming Recovery Champions and Volunteers. Andy is a constant source of energy and a valued and valuable member of the team. She was involved in the establishment of a co-production panel at the service and has supported the group work programme, co-facilitating groups and encouraging participation from others. Recently, Andy has supported the new Access and Engagement model which ensures that people are able to access the service as quickly as possible and are met by a friendly voice at the earliest opportunity. She has been instrumental in making sure that the face of lived experience is evident to ensure that people engage with the service and remain engaged. Andy has tried her hand at every aspect of service delivery and her involvement has contributed to the success of the Recovery Hub in Glasgow.

North West – Alan Bailey Banks

Alan is an ex-service user with a 30-year history of alcohol misuse which led to his support being escalated to the Active Case Management (ACM) provision which supports clients with a high risk of hospital admission. With the support of Addaction, he has maintained his own sobriety and trained to become a Recovery Champion and then volunteer where he now supports his peers to change their life around. When Alan became a Recovery Champion he was keen to support the work of the ACM team as they had been such a support to him and became the facilitator of a group which brought together service users who had an ongoing struggle to maintain alcohol cessation. The group, who call themselves LADDERS, has succeeded largely due to Alan’s energy and enthusiasm and regularly brings together 12 plus service users who had previously disengaged from services. Alan has played an empowering role in encouraging the group to take ownership, share ideas and learn from each other which has led to recovery becoming contagious among the group and a number of members have now started training to become Recovery Champions.

North East – Alex Lumsden

Alex has been a volunteer with Addaction in Sheffield since February and has made a great impact on the service ever since. He has made impressive progress and is extremely reliable, giving 10-15 hours of his time to the service each week at the same time as working full time. Alex runs a weekly allotment group and was an integral part of getting the project off the ground. He makes service users feel at ease, encourages them to get involved and is a calm and positive influence in an often chaotic place. Alex also recognised a gap in the service’s provisions around benefit and housing support so, after detailed research, has opened a weekly drop-in centre. Chris, Alex’s recovery worker, says he has “shown massive commitment to being a volunteer” and that he “will be a great benefit to the service if he carries on building on what he has achieved so far”.

Carole Cliffe, Sue Peoples, Joanne Taylor, Tommy Allan and Bryony Homewood

South West – Carole Cliffe

Carole has been a volunteer with Addaction Bournemouth for two years proving herself to be a dependable asset to the service by working through her anxieties on a range of tasks and picking up numerous skills. She has worked on reception at the open access service, escorted users to and from residential treatment around the country and runs the art group which encourages service users to get creative. Carole has grown in confidence during her time as a volunteer and plans to continue her voluntary work despite recently securing employment at a local taxi company.

North and West – Sue Peoples

Sue has been a volunteer with Young Addaction Lancashire since October 2016, working on the HEART Domestic Abuse Programme which supports young people at risk of, or involved in, domestic abuse in Central Lancashire. She has taken part in one to one session and home visits, delivered workshops in colleges and supported housing schemes to raise awareness of the effects and risks associated with domestic abuse. Sue is completely dedicated to the programme and the young people she supports, and she has shown that she can listen to their experiences without judgement and show them compassion without being patronising.

North East – Joanne Taylor

Joanne has been a volunteer counsellor at the Hartlepool prescribing service since 2015, during which time she has successfully completed her Foundation Degree in Counselling and become an ambassador for the core values of Addaction whenever she is in the service. She is a warm, kind and caring person and a highly valued member of the team. Joanne provides individual counselling services each week and has made a significant impact on the well being of her clients and their families, helping them to rebuild relationships and make positive changes in their lives.

Scotland – Tommy Allan

Tommy has immersed himself in recovery during his time at the North-East Recovery Hub in Glasgow and has grown in confidence and developed numerous skills. He began volunteering at the Hub every day, initially shadowing staff before carrying out referrals and assessments himself. Tommy is a committed and eager volunteer, making himself available to facilitate access groups and providing invaluable support to busy staff members. Tommy has excelled in his volunteering role and is using the variety of skills he has learnt to move closer to his goal of gaining employment.

London – Bryony Homewood

Bryony joined Kent Young Persons service to gain experience for her psychology qualification, volunteering full time for 10 months and delivering every aspect of the service during this time. She had a small caseload of specialist treatment clients, delivered interventions in schools and pupil referral units and provided invaluable support and assistance to staff across the service. Bryony acted as an advocate and mentor for future volunteers and used her experience of all aspects of the service to support new staff members during their period of induction.

Erin Donald, Stephen Davidson, Jock Hobson, Sue Warren and Jenny Southcott

National Winner – Erin Donald

Erin volunteers with the Baby Programme at Young Addaction in Liverpool, helping to inform young parents about the harmful effects of substance misuse. Erin has carried out research, helped with public presentations and facilitated the delivery of education programmes in colleges, all while demonstrating her passion for volunteering at a number of other charities alongside giving her time to Addaction.

Scotland – Stephen Davidson

Stephen volunteers with Addaction’s North Glasgow Community Rehab where he uses his own experiences of substance misuse to help service users. He successfully secured four guitars form a homelessness support service and now runs a guitar class for service users which has maintained a core group of members since its foundation.

East – Jock Hobson

Jock volunteers with Addaction’s Drug Intervention Programme in Sheffield, supporting service users who take part in a fishing group every week as well as supporting the Tea and Toast groups and an Art group. Jock’s volunteering role takes him out into the community where he meets and motivates service users to get to appointments, helping Addaction to improve the services that they provide.

London and South East – Sue Warren

Sue has facilitated and empowered a group of service users at Thanet and South Kent Coast Mental Health Services to run a support group for mental health wellbeing. The group runs arts and crafts sessions, engages with the community at local events and runs meditation sessions. Sue also works with a group with social anxieties, enabling them to establish links with people in the group and the wider local community.

South West – Jenny Southcott

Jenny volunteers with Addaction’s services in North and East Cornwall, following her own journey of recovery. After shadowing other volunteers, Jenny now delivers support groups for clients, runs a breakfast club and is producing a ‘Nourish Not Punish’ recipe book to help clients with cooking healthy recipes.

David Lee, Mark Merrifield, Alexia Zavros, Billy Conner

National Winner – David Lee

David volunteers giving talks and raising awareness about Hepatitis C. Drawing on his own personal experience and his passion for the illness to be eliminated, David not only delivers talks to Addaction groups, but also works with other organisations and services in the area. He has given 32 talks in the past year and volunteers in a number of other roles, including running Mutual Aid Partnership Meetings and the local gardening project.

South West – Mark Merrifield

Mark is a volunteer with Addaction, Cornwall. His long list of contributions include being a volunteer tutor for the ‘Learn My Way’ online training programme for service users, setting up arts and crafts groups and co-delivering the Life Skills accredited course.

North and West – Alexia Zavros

Alexia provides support to young service users at Liverpool Young Addaction. She helps Addaction to run school groups and delivers sessions to young people in the community who are in need of support.

Scotland – Billy Connor

Billy volunteers with the North Glasgow Community Centre, and first came into contact with the service as someone in recovery himself. He now volunteers at the local North West Recovery Communities, cooking for volunteers and catering for events, as well as at other outreach services.

Lisa Harrington, Mark James, Michael Murphy and Sharon Taylor

National Winner – Lisa Harrington

Lisa volunteers over 30 hours per week in Addaction St Helen’s in Merseyside. She has increased their service user retention, provided training, given university lectures and created opportunities for Service Users, Recovery Champions and Volunteers to work towards qualifications. Lisa strongly highlights Addaction’s ethos by putting the Service User at the heart of all elements of her exceptional practice.

North West – Mark James

Mark volunteers with Addaction Cheshire, where as well as supporting individuals on a one-to-one basis and doing outreach work within the community, he has founded the inspiring ‘Grace Note Choir.’ The recovery choir encourages its members to grow in confidence and helps participants to break down boundaries, whilst raising awareness about recovery.

Scotland – Michael Murphy

Michael is an exceptional volunteer for Addaction’s South West Glasgow Community Rehab Service. He has been with the service for 7 years helping across the various services and facilitating independent support groups. He also attends every recovery walk, graduation and recovery run for Addaction service users.

South West – Sharon Taylor

Sharon volunteers at Addaction Liskeard’s recovery service and was nominated by two of her peers. She runs a Breakfast Club and Mutual Aid Partnership (MAP) group, volunteering up to 6 days a week and has demonstrated excellent skills when working in challenging circumstances.

Jim Henderson, Michael Hussey, Ian Jefferson, Gary Wheeler

National Winner – Jim Henderson, Addaction Fife.

With 14 years’ experience of working in the drugs and alcohol sector, Jim is a true ambassador for the service and has proven himself to be a dedicated part of the Addaction team, willing to work wherever and whenever he can – in his own words, ‘I would support the team 8 days a week if I could.’

South West – Michael Hussey

Michael has been a great addition to the Addaction team in Exeter, assisting with support groups. He is always there to step in when other volunteers are unavailable and provides much support to new volunteers joining the team.

North and East – Ian Jefferson

Ian is a volunteer with a fundamental belief that service users can recover from addictions. He takes a lead role in the Ex Forces Group and found funding to set up a Tea and Toast Group, which has been successful in engaging hard to reach service users.

North West – Gary Wheeler

Gary volunteers for Addaction’s Young Addiction Services in Liverpool. He has provided much help to the team and has shown great abilities in supporting client groups and shadowing staff.

Daniel Colbeck, Westy Joe, Percy Hunt, David Leg and Nick Trinder

National Winner – Daniel Colbeck

Daniel volunteers for Manchester resettlement project and helps to take ex offenders through all the difficult stages of the release process from providing a listening ear, building a trusting relationship, finding safe accommodation and liaising with partner agencies who may provide support and statutory services. Daniel also supports his peer volunteers helping them develop themselves and increase their professional skills in their volunteering roles.  He has also found the time to organise and facilitate recruitment and training programmes and volunteer reward and recognition events.

South West – Westy Joe

Westy Joe is a well-respected member of the Cornwall team and is very enthusiastic about giving as much support as possible. He gives his time running different groups and running the Recovery Café on Saturdays as well as attending conferences and giving talks. He supports, encourages and empowers clients through their own recovery and is a very valued member of the team.

North East – Percy Hunt

Percy has displayed a compassionate and caring attitude towards the clients in the Grantham centre. He helps in the Grantham needle and syringe programme, transports clients to detox, hospitals and other appointments, thus reducing their stress and offering support through difficult times. Without his help and on-going support to the organisation they would have struggled to offer the support that they deserve.

Scotland – David Legg

David approached Addaction Scotland in the summer of 2011 to see if he could help the charity in any way. He had recently left school and wanted to fill his time doing something that would make a difference before settling on a career option. At that time the Addaction Scotland Office were drowning in work and asked if he could help clear some of the backlog. During this time David took a real interest in the charity. He requested to see if he could be of some use in other projects

South East – Nick Trinder

Nick Trinder has provided invaluable service in Worthing. Despite the heavy foot traffic of clients throughout the building, Nick creates a calm, responsive and efficient environment which is really appreciated by the staff and the clients. Nick has an ability to keep the reception area calm where the clients often present as distressed, anxious, angry, ‘under the influence’ and also some with mental health issues.