Our objectives
Our beneficiaries are generally those who fall through the gaps, have had struggles with other services, or are making their first step towards finding recovery from addition / substance abuse and do not know where to turn. We support people from all backgrounds but concentrate on those who have no or limited funds based in or around North London but primarily in Haringey, Islington, Barnet, Camden and Enfield.
The trustees at the heart of Rehabit have been fortunate to survive addiction and alcoholism. Unfortunately, many of our friends and acquaintances have not been as lucky and it has been extremely painful to watch them lose their battle against addiction and ultimately their lives. We want to use our lived experience to help as many people as we can overcome addiction, particularly those marginalised from society by poverty. We do make a huge difference to those we can help not just to the clients themselves but their families and communities.
Over the years, we’ve learned that addiction doesn’t discriminate. It touches people from all backgrounds and ways of life, regardless of age, sexuality, ethnicity or faith – we believe that everyone has the right to recovery from addiction.
Our clients include people from ethnic minority groups, the LGBTQ+ community, those with disabilities, and ex-offenders. If someone is struggling with drugs or alcohol, has no or little money and is in our geographical area, then we will try to help them.
Here are some important statistics from a UK Health Security Report regarding treatment for addiction in London.
- People who spend time in treatment have reduced rates of offending.
- National Audit Office says that for everyone £1 spent on treatment, £2.50 is yielded in social and health costs.
- Drug treatment alone isn’t enough - social factors (housing, employment, social networks) are important influences on overall treatment (note: social factors will be part of our rehab house and 12-week pilot programme).
- Drug misuse deaths constantly rising.
- London saw a higher proportion of deaths from cocaine and new psychoactive substances than the rest of the country.
- Parental drug and alcohol use impacts on vulnerable children.
- Children of substance misusers are over-represented in local authority safeguarding proceedings.
- Evidence shows that those who participate in mutual aid groups like 12-step fellowships (AA, NA, CA) are more likely to sustain recovery.
Our activities
We provide free counselling and peer support for those struggling with drugs and alcohol and who have no or limited funds.
We receive referrals either directly from clients who are aware of us through word-of-mouth or the internet but mostly via the networks we have established. We work with statutory-funded bodies and the voluntary and community sector to help their clients with addiction and substance abuse problems. We have a thriving partnership with Mind in Haringey where we are the named provider of addiction counselling on their website.
The first person these clients speak with at our charity is a peer supporter with lived experience of addiction. We learned quickly that new clients are far more likely to open up and feel more relaxed knowing that they are speaking with someone who understands and has faced similar challenges. This gives them more trust in the person and the confidence to talk frankly and honestly about their issues without fear of judgement.
The early intervention with peer supporters offers clients a supported pathway into counselling – and helps us assess who might most benefit from and stay the course throughout a programme of counselling. Clients are then offered 26-weeks of counselling with the primary goal of abstinence.
