Police and Crime Commissioner Supports Calderdale in Recovery

West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Mark Burns-Williamson has supported Calderdale in Recovery (CiR) with a grant from his Safer Communities Fund.

The project received a grant of £4,980 which went towards providing support activities such as cricket, drama, art, creative writing and fishing, for those recovering from addiction.

CiR is a not for profit organisation based in Halifax but operating throughout Calderdale open to anyone who is interested in any aspect of recovery from a drink or drug problem. They have developed support networks to help individuals maintain their recovery as well as arranging community based opportunities such as volunteering, enterprise, participation and networking which also helps reduce the stigma attached to those affected by addiction.

The Safer Communities Fund returns money recovered from criminals under the Proceeds of Crime Act back to worthwhile causes across West Yorkshire. So far the fund has given out over £1.69m to over 380 projects.

PCC Mark Burns-Williamson visited the project this week (12/07) and said:

“The services that CiR provide are extremely valuable in helping people recover from addiction in a supportive environment and I was pleased to be able to provide some support to a structured programme of activities.
On meeting some of the team behind the project it was very clear how passionate they are about helping people and making a real life changing difference to individuals and in their community. This is exactly the sort of project the Safer Communities Fund was set up to help.”

Tom Cairns, Team Leader at Calderdale in Recovery said: “The aim of this project is to help people develop new skills through a series of different activities which complement each other. These activities all encompass the five ways to well being as well as providing new skills. When people give up substances it is imperative that they can develop in order to maintain their recovery and become productive members of their communities. They can then use these skills and new confidence to engage in wider community activities and ultimately find employment.

“As many substance abusers are prolific criminals, hospital attendees etc the benefits to the local community from helping people to develop are numerous. They can also pass these skills to others in recovery as well as help prevent others from becoming involved with substance misuse.”

Thanks to Stuart, Tom and Jo for being hosts and for sharing the possitive message of Recovery.