London Recovery Network launch sees charities and community organisations come together to advance recovery in the capital

The launch of the London Recovery Network (LRN) took place last week at a bustling packed out event at Conway Hall in the Holborn area of London. More than 160? people from various organisations across London attended the event to listen to incredible stories of recovery, watch theatre performed by people in recovery as well as discover what the new initiative means for the people of London who are in recovery.

A common theme of the day was the assertion that community and connection are the antithesis of substance use. The audience heard began the day with an exceptional talk from Dame Carol Black, the government’s independent adviser on drugs. Dame Black spoke at length about her experience of working in the sector and enacting change to increase funding and reduce stigma for those undergoing treatment or in recovery from substance use.

The network of charities, community groups and Lived Experience Recovery Organisations (LERO) who launched the network with support from drug and alcohol treatment providers, commissioners and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, presented  the newly created website,  This will be the hub for all forthcoming activity.. Attendees were then asked to offer their pledges through a digital screen. These were collected for the purposes of influencing the future direction of the LRN.

 There were talks from individuals who had moving stories about recovery and how their usage of substances had impacted their lives. This was accompanied by a theatre production by a recovery theatre group as well as musicians who played through the lunch break.

Finally the day was concluded by Alison Keating, Head of Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco for the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. She pledged passionately to support the group and its aims – to better connect organisations in London to ensure recovery is viable for as many people as possible.

Steve Campbell, Programme Manager at OHID, said: “it was such a privilege to see so many people coming together from across London to collaborate on helping improve the recovery outcomes for Londoners. The LRN has great potential to connect people and increase knowledge about what’s on offer out there for people seeking recovery across London”

The steering group were keen to stress that this successful launch is just the beginning. And the future of the London Recovery Network will begin to take shape going forward.