REACH Drug & Alcohol Services has opened a free, friendly and confidential service at the Weymouth Coffee Tavern in Weymouth.

The service has given the team the space to offer vital local clinical services, one to one appointments, group and meeting space, treatment rooms and needle exchange facilities. The team have learned how to work in a completely different way to support its service users during COVID-19, by for instance delivering prescriptions to those who were required to self-isolate or were particularly vulnerable to the virus.

REACH has turned many thousands of lives around and, one of the ways that many people who have been through recovery give back to society and their local community is by becoming active volunteers for REACH and other local organisations.

“I get a lot out of it” says Andy, one of 30 volunteers across the county. “Volunteering is an important part of my recovery but also, it’s really important to give back because it’s no overstatement to say that I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for REACH and the peers that I have interacted with since I started”

Cllr Laura Miller, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Health said: “It’s great to have a facility such as the Weymouth Coffee Tavern open and running treatment services for those residents who have a problematic relationship with drugs and alcohol and helping them get over their problems with substances.

“If you or any of your loved ones are having trouble with alcohol and drugs, get in touch with the team who can offer free and confidential advice and support.”

The team offer a mix of flexible and blended treatments to service users. Some vital treatments actually take place in the privacy of people’s homes. Alcohol specialists within REACH for instance are able to assess and facilitate home alcohol detox’s where suitable, and there are also numerous focused groups which busy people can access from home at times to suit them. Recovery workers can also support people to apply for residential rehabilitation places where this is appropriate.

Giving back to the local community is not just the mindset of volunteers. Staff also take this responsibility seriously. Within the short space of time that they have been working at the Weymouth Coffee Tavern they have set up and taken a lead in a community litter pick, have opened their doors for coffee and informal chats and they have partnered with local businesses to bring personal hygiene products, food and household goods to families most in need. These are delivered by the specialist family team who work with the whole family to create a better quality of life and a safe place to call home.

With the slow easing of Covid restrictions service users have been particularly keen to see the start of group work again, as this face to face work is so valued by those that attend, helping them to stay positive and focused on their recovery. This is likely to happen in the near future, but in the meantime, while activities are risk assessed there are very successful virtual groups on offer.

To get in touch with REACH or refer yourself to please call 0800 043 4656 or visit www.edp.org.uk/reach