Our partnerships and enterprise
We’re a community of people who’ve faced drug and alcohol problems and found recovery. Now we’re helping others do the same — through local support services. And through training, employment opportunities and projects that make recovery visible on our streets and in our neighbourhoods.
The profits we raise from social enterprises — such as our cafes — are always reinvested into our frontline recovery services. And In 2024/25 alone, we supported over 100 people into work and training.
We do this because when people find recovery, it changes much more than their own lives — it also makes their families, neighbourhoods and entire communities stronger. And we believe it is vitally important to show that success, by making recovery as visible as possible.
This section of our website is designed primarily for commissioners, employers and funders. But whoever you are, you are welcome to explore each section and to learn about our wider work.
And If you’re looking for support for yourself or someone you care about, then please click here.
Employment & Volunteering
Employment and volunteering are part of recovery — not something you have to put off until later. With the North East’s largest Individual Placement & Support (IPS) Employment team, we support people into work that feels realistic, meaningful and right for them. Whether that’s returning to employment, trying work for the first time, or working towards something longer term.
Support includes help with CVs, interviews, confidence, understanding benefits, and speaking with employers — and we continue to support you once you’re in work.
Our Community Enterprises
Whether it’s serving food, running events or simply offering a friendly welcome, these projects give people in recovery real opportunities to work and grow, while creating spaces for the wider community that are open, positive and inclusive.
Coffee bike
The idea behind the Free Hot Coffee Bike is simple: to get out into the community, be seen, and start positive conversations about recovery. You’ll often find the bike at events and gatherings across Middlesbrough and the wider Tees Valley — where our volunteers serve coffee, meet people and show recovery in action.
The bike has given many people their first opportunity of work experience while in recovery, and they have since gone on to jobs or training — while the bike itself has become a local symbol of recovery and what people can achieve.
Connections Community Café and Deli
The Connections Café and Deli in Middlesbrough is a welcoming spot for good food and friendly service. What makes it different is that it’s run in partnership with people in recovery, and creates a space where staff and volunteers can build skills and confidence while serving the local community.
For customers, it’s a place to enjoy breakfast or lunch. For those working at the cafe, it’s a chance to gain experience in a real workplace — and to show that people in recovery can contribute, connect and be a positive part of their town.
131 The Venue
131 The Venue, on Linthorpe Road in Middlesbrough, is a community space designed for everything from meetings and training sessions to weddings, parties and local celebrations.
It’s run with the support of people in recovery, who gain hands-on experience in hospitality, customer service and event management. For many, it’s a first step into either work or volunteering, and it helps them to build confidence and skills in a real world setting.
For the wider community, it offers an affordable, welcoming place to come together — while the profits we raise from every booking is reinvested into our frontline work.
Hendon Community Café
Hendon Community Café, on Villette Road in Sunderland, serves affordable breakfasts, lunches and daily specials. And since opening, it’s become a neighbourhood favourite — where local residents, families and friends can come together, chat and hang out.
What sets it apart is that behind the counter are local people in recovery, gaining experience in catering and customer service while building skills and confidence — and, in the process, breaking down stigma and stereotypes about people who have experienced drug and alcohol problems. And it creates strong, positive new connections with the local community.
Training and consultancy
Our training and consultancy programmes
When recovery is properly understood, colleagues, students and communities are better equipped to respond with empathy and confidence. Our training and consultancy programmes are designed to build this understanding, giving organisations the skills and assurance they need to address challenges, reduce stigma and create environments where everyone can succeed.
We deliver this training and consultancy through accredited workshops, tailored support for employers and educators, and projects that bring lived experience into everyday working practice.
Growing Recovery Leadership
Working alongside communities to grow LEROs and lived‑experience leadership
Every community holds recovery potential — the people, places and stories that spark hope and connection. Our work supports communities to recognise that potential and turn it into lasting, lived‑experience leadership.
At Recovery Connections, we partner with councils, public health teams and local organisations to strengthen LEROs, build capacity and make recovery visible as a shared community strength. Through listening programmes, ambassador development and community‑based models shaped by lived experience, we help local areas grow sustainable recovery movements grounded in dignity, belonging and hope.
Recovery Ally Training
Recovery Ally Training gives everyone the tools to understand how recovery from drug and alcohol is successful, and the confidence they need to support others.
It is a CPD-accredited workshop (Continuing Professional Development) co-facilitated by people with lived experience of addiction and recovery.
Participants hear real stories, challenge myths and learn how to respond without judgement. The training then helps people recognise stigma and make everyday environments — workplaces, colleges, services and communities — more recovery-friendly.
Each year, hundreds of people take part in this training, including staff from universities, NHS teams, local councils, charities and community groups.
Employee Support Consultancy
Many people continue working while they, or someone close to them, are struggling with drugs or alcohol. Employers often want to help but don’t always know how. Our Employee Support Consultancy gives them a clear way forward.
Recovery Coaches provide confidential one-to-one support for staff, while managers and HR teams receive practical guidance on how to respond with understanding and consistency. We also work with organisations to put in place policies and practices that make workplaces safer, more open and more supportive.
Support can be delivered online or face to face, and adapted to the needs of each organisation. Employers who work with us report stronger staff wellbeing, better retention and a culture where people don’t have to hide their struggles.
New Central Media – Sharing real stories of addiction and recovery
Too often, books and resources about addiction are written about people in recovery, not by them. New Central Media aims to change that, by giving people the chance to tell their own stories in their own words.
Created by Dr David Patton, in partnership with Recovery Connections, we publish books, essays and collections by people with lived experience of addiction and recovery, by families who have been affected, and by those who support recovery in their communities. These are real accounts, written in a real and relatable way — which debunk myths, challenge stigma, spark conversations and offer hope.
All authors are paid for their work. We recognise their lived experience as expertise. And through New Central Media we create opportunities for people in recovery to build both confidence and a new career.
All royalties go back to the book’s authors, and editorial services are provided to them free of charge.
Support for students
Support while studying
Drug, alcohol and other behavioural problems can affect people before they enter higher education. Or they can begin while they’re studying. In each case, stigma and a lack of understanding can make it harder to seek help, stay on track, or feel welcome on campus.
That’s why we support students with specially designed services. We help them balance recovery with their studies. And we work with colleges and universities across the country to make campuses more recovery-friendly for everyone.
Student Support
Our Student Support programme helps students balance their studies with recovery. We offer one-to-one guidance, peer groups and practical advice for those who are in recovery themselves or affected by someone else’s use.
We also work with student services and teaching staff at universities and colleges to build understanding and reduce stigma on campus. Dozens of students have already benefitted from this focused work — and have been able to continue their education, and to gain the qualifications they want while building and maintaining a life free of drug and alcohol misuse.
Collegiate Recovery UK
Collegiate Recovery UK is a national network founded by Recovery Connections.
It brings together universities that want to create recovery-friendly campuses.
Through events, shared resources and peer-led expertise, the network helps institutions learn from each other and develop approaches that work both locally and nationally.
We’re pleased to say that, From Middlesbrough to Manchester, more universities are joining our network – and showing that recovery is both possible and visible, in higher education across the UK.
The Recovery Friendly Pledge
The Recovery Friendly Pledge is a simple but powerful commitment for colleges and universities across the UK.
These institutions agree to recognise recovery from drug and alcohol issues as part of student wellbeing. They train their staff to properly understand the issues. And they create safe spaces on campus, where people can feel welcome and seek support.
That way, the pledge is about more than words — and is rooted in both real experiences and positive action.
Building recovery communities
Recovery from drug and alcohol issues doesn’t just transform an individual’s life — it can reshape families, workplaces and entire communities too. And through local projects, national networks and international movements, we’re showing how recovery can be built into everyday life, creating places where people feel valued, included and able to move forward.
Inclusive Recovery Cities
Inclusive Recovery Cities is an international movement that puts lived experience at the heart of how cities respond to drug and alcohol problems, and addiction. The idea is simple but powerful: when recovery is made visible in workplaces, schools, housing, culture and community life, the whole city benefits.
Thanks to our efforts, Middlesbrough became the first recognised Inclusive Recovery City in the UK. This grew out of our Building Recovery in Middlesbrough programme, which made recovery visible through local festivals, public events, news coverage and more. It trained schools and employers to better understand addiction. It took conversations about recovery into neighbourhoods and workplaces. And it built recovery values into local health, housing and education services.
Together these actions showed how any city can move beyond stigma and create real opportunities for people in recovery to work, study and reconnect. Building on Middlesbrough’s example, Recovery Connections now works with partners across the UK and internationally to share learning and inspire others.
