Broadway Lodge were kindly invited by south west-based charity Developing Health & Independence (DHI) to exhibit at their annual Reach Out conference which is a supportive day for relatives and carers of people with addiction.
Charlotte (in our marketing department) went along to the conference venue in Keynsham last Thursday to set up our stand, provide information about Broadway Lodge and to raise awareness of our free Sunday family programme. Other exhibitors included Bristol Drugs Project, Families Anonymous and Adfam, all of whom offer support to family members affected by drugs and alcohol.
DHI did a fantastic job of organising such a supportive, meaningful and emotive event and it was clear to see the passion that the DHI representatives and employees from the other organisations have for helping service users. There was a structured schedule for the day which included talks from current and past DHI employees, a special performance from Rising Voices (Bristol’s recovery choir), a boundaries workshop and poem readings. The most poignant moments from the day were hearing from four brave attendees who each shared their personal experience of living with a relative with addiction and the challenges they’ve endured.
One of the key messages from the day was that loved ones cannot help someone in active addiction if they’re not looking after their own health and wellbeing. Supportive services like DHI, Adfam and Families Anonymous can be fundamentally important in enabling people to cope and to not feel isolated or alone.
Links to each of these organisations’ website are listed below.
Adfam: https://adfam.org.uk/
Bristol Drugs Project: https://www.bdp.org.uk/
DHI: https://www.dhi-online.org.uk/get-help/families-carers-services
Families Anonymous: http://famanon.org.uk/
