September 2026

Recovery in the Capital – A huge thank you 

Steve Campbell Chair of the London Recovery Network Steering Group

Over the course of the day, we heard powerful stories of hope and transformation, celebrated the achievements and talents of people in recovery, explored new ideas, strengthened existing relationships and made many new connections.

Perhaps most importantly, we were reminded that recovery is not something that happens in isolation. Recovery flourishes through connection, community, purpose, opportunity and belonging.

One of the ambitions of the London Recovery Network has always been to help people see that we are all part of something much bigger than our local service, group, organisation or borough. Looking around the room at Troxy, it was impossible not to feel the scale of what exists across London when people come together with a shared commitment to supporting recovery.

The feedback we have received so far has consistently highlighted themes of connection, collaboration, hope and community. Many attendees have reflected on the value of bringing together people with lived and living experience, recovery communities, mutual aid fellowships, lived experience recovery organisations, treatment providers, commissioners, public health leaders and community organisations in a single shared space.

For us, this is exactly what the London Recovery Network was established to achieve. The event was also an important reminder that the true strength of the LRN lies in people and relationships. The willingness of organisations and individuals to collaborate, support one another and work towards a shared vision continues to be the LRN’s greatest asset.

As we move forward, we do so with a renewed sense of optimism and purpose. We look forward to the appointment of our London Recovery Network Coordinator, the continued development of the community asset map, enhancing the London Recovery Network website so that it becomes an increasingly valuable platform for discovering support, sharing opportunities, promoting events and connecting London’s recovery communities. We will also develop the emerging partnership with the Association of Directors of Public Health London also provides exciting opportunities for the future.

The conversations, connections and ideas that emerged from Recovery in the Capital do not end here. We will be adding details of our Winter Webinar in the next few days. The webinar will provide an opportunity to hear about the latest developments across the LRN, showcase innovative work taking place within London’s recovery communities and continue the conversations around recovery, lived experience, connection and collaboration that were such a strong feature of the event. If you have something that you would like to talk about at the next webinar, or seek collaboration with, please get in touch and we can discuss further

Together, we can continue building a stronger, more connected recovery community across London.

 

September 2025

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 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 could mean 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 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.