Hamoaze House Plymouth

12/06/2026

Hi all,

This is what Hamoaze has to offer next week.

05/06/2026

Hi all, this is what we have to offer at Hamoaze house next week, hope you all have a good weekend.

02/06/2026

HOW HAMOAZE HOUSE SUPPORTS FAMILIES

At Hamoaze House, we know that recovery does not happen in isolation.

When one person is affected by drug or alcohol use, the impact can ripple through the whole family. Children may carry worries they do not know how to express. Parents and carers may feel exhausted, judged or unsure where to turn. Relationships can become strained, and families can gradually become disconnected from schools, services and the wider community.

But the opposite is also true.

When families are supported with compassion, when children feel safe, and when parents are treated with dignity, the benefits can spread far beyond one individual. Stronger families help create stronger communities.

That is why early intervention and prevention matter so much.

SUPPORTING CHILDREN AFFECTED BY PARENTAL SUBSTANCE USE

Last summer, during the school holidays, Hamoaze House worked in partnership with the Harbour Family Service to deliver a four-week activity programme for children and young people affected by parental drug or alcohol use.

The programme was designed as a “test and learn” pilot. We wanted to explore whether a flexible, compassionate and relationship-based approach could offer meaningful support to young people whose needs are often hidden from view.

Many children living with parental substance use become very skilled at appearing fine. They may be quiet, responsible and well behaved, while carrying pressures that other people do not see.

The pilot created a safe and welcoming space where young people could relax, build friendships, try new experiences and spend time with adults who understood the importance of kindness, consistency and trust.

Across the four weeks, the young people took part in creative activities, games, physical activities and outdoor experiences. The programme was deliberately flexible, so it could respond to the interests, confidence and emotional needs of the young people themselves. The pilot ended with a group visit to the zoo, with parents and carers invited to join.

The evaluation found positive impact at several levels.

Young people gained confidence, built friendships, tried new activities and experienced support in a safe and non-stigmatising environment.

Parents and carers experienced respite, felt respected and supported, and strengthened their relationships with services.

Staff involved in the project gained a deeper understanding of the needs of families and saw the value of close partnership working.

One reflection from the evaluation captures the heart of the work:

“If you talk to a lot of people in recovery… the thing that triggered their recovery was that relationship where someone showed that they cared… it’s the same thing for the children.”

We would like to thank Dr Jane Horrell and colleagues from the Health Determinants Research Collaboration at the University of Plymouth, together with colleagues from Improving Lives Plymouth, for their work in researching and preparing the evaluation report.

The report highlights the value of relational, trauma-informed and flexible support for children and families affected by substance use. It also shows why this kind of work matters as an early-intervention response to hidden harm, stigma and the intergenerational impact of trauma and substance use.

We are now looking forward to continuing our work with the Harbour Family Service to explore how this pilot can develop into a more permanent part of the support available locally to children, young people and families.

HELPING FAMILIES BUILD STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS WITH SCHOOLS

We are also midway through another developmental project: the Parental Conversations pilot.

This work is focused on helping families engage with schools in a more productive way and improving communication between parents, carers and education settings.

The pilot will continue into 2027, but the early signs are already encouraging, with positive impact emerging at several levels.

When communication between families and schools improves, difficulties can be identified earlier. Parents can feel more confident asking for support. Children are more likely to experience consistency, understanding and encouragement across the different parts of their lives.

This is important because early support can reduce the impact of multiple disadvantage before difficulties become more entrenched. It can help children build confidence, resilience and the skills they need to develop healthy, independent lives as they grow older.

SUPPORT FOR FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS

Our SMART Friends and Family group meets every Friday from 1pm to 3pm.

The group offers support to people affected by someone else’s drug or alcohol use. It provides a space to share experiences, understand patterns of behaviour, develop coping strategies and feel less alone.

Supporting the people around someone in recovery is not an optional extra. Families often carry enormous amounts of worry, responsibility and emotional strain. Helping them feel stronger can improve the wider environment in which recovery takes place.

EXPLORING A NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH YOUNG PEOPLE IN DEVONPORT

Over the past two months, we have also started a new relationship with The Zebra Collective in Devonport.

It began simply: Hamoaze offered the use of our five-a-side football pitch for The Zebra Collective’s Wednesday youth club.

Sometimes small, practical steps create the space for something more significant to grow.

We are now beginning to explore how this relationship might develop into a more structured partnership, and how Hamoaze can contribute to community cohesion, positive activities and stronger connections for young people in Devonport.

This work is still at an early stage, but the initial response has been extremely positive. There is a shared sense of possibility and genuine enthusiasm about what we may be able to build together.

It is particularly valuable to work alongside an organisation with such a longstanding commitment to Devonport and its young people.

BUILDING STRONGER FAMILIES AND STRONGER COMMUNITIES

At Hamoaze House, we believe that supporting families is one of the most important ways we can reduce the long-term impact of trauma, substance use and multiple disadvantage.

It is not about judging families.

It is about standing alongside people.

It is about helping children feel safer.

It is about giving parents the support and confidence to rebuild relationships.

And it is about investing early enough to help create a different future.

Recovery does not happen in isolation.

When families grow stronger, communities grow stronger too.

02/06/2026

SMART Recovery meeting tonight at Hamoaze House
7:00pm–8:30pm

The meeting is completely open to everyone. You do not need to be attending Hamoaze House, and you do not need a referral.

SMART is not only for people whose lives have fallen apart.

It is also for the person who is still getting up for work every morning, paying the bills and keeping everything going — but has started to realise that alcohol and/or illicit drugs are taking up more space than they should.

Maybe the evening drinks have gradually become most evenings. Maybe occasional drug use has become more frequent. Maybe it is becoming harder to stop once you start. You may still be functioning well enough that nobody else would necessarily notice, but you know the pattern is moving in the wrong direction.

Some people come to an evening SMART meeting precisely because they want to deal with the problem early. They do not want to take time off work or wait until alcohol and/or illicit drugs begin to affect their health, relationships or job.

One person in that position started attending SMART meetings in the evening while continuing to work during the day. They used the meetings to understand their triggers, make practical changes and regain control before things deteriorated further. They are now doing well and no longer feel that alcohol or illicit drugs are quietly taking over their life.

You do not need to wait for a crisis before asking for support.

Please arrive early. The building door closes at 7:00pm and the meeting starts promptly, so we cannot admit late arrivals.

For more information, call the Hamoaze House office on 01752 566 100.

01/06/2026

This is what we have to offer this week 😀

22/05/2026

Here is what we have to offer next week 😀

22/05/2026

SMART Recovery at Hamoaze House is now an open meeting

From Tuesday 26 May, our weekly SMART Recovery meeting at Hamoaze House will become an open meeting.

That means anyone who wants to attend can come along.

No referral needed.
No paperwork.
No assessment first.
No need to contact Hamoaze House beforehand.

Just come to Hamoaze House for 7pm on Tuesday evening.

The meeting runs every Tuesday from 7pm to 8.30pm.

SMART Recovery is a practical, evidence-informed approach that helps people look at the choices they are making regarding their use of drugs and or alcohol, understand what drives unhelpful patterns, and build tools for change. It is not about being judged. It is not about being told what to do. It is about learning skills, sharing honestly, and making progress one decision at a time.

We often see people arrive feeling unsure, anxious, or convinced that they have already “failed” too many times. One person described coming to SMART Recovery because they were tired of making the same promises to themselves every week.

At first, they mostly listened. Over time, they started using the tools from the group to pause before acting on urges, plan for difficult moments, and understand the link between thoughts, feelings and behaviour.

The change was not instant. It rarely is. But week by week, they became more confident, more honest with themselves, and more able to make different choices.

That is what SMART Recovery can offer: not magic, not pressure, but a structured space to learn practical tools for change.

So, from Tuesday 26 May, if you think SMART Recovery might help you, you can simply turn up.

SMART Recovery at Hamoaze House
Every Tuesday
7pm to 8.30pm
Open to anyone who wishes to attend
You do not need to have everything worked out before you come. You just need to walk through the door.

https://smartrecovery.org.uk/

Self-Help Addiction Recovery Programmes from UK Smart Recovery include recovery from alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling and more.

15/05/2026

This is what we have to offer next week 🙂

08/05/2026

Hi all,

This is what we have to offer for next week 😀
(I have attached the QR code in the comments to sign up to the research)

07/05/2026

Today is .

At Hamoaze House, harm reduction is not separate from recovery. It is one of the foundations that makes recovery possible.

For many of us who came into drug and alcohol work through the treatment system in the 1990s, Liverpool will always have a special place in the story of harm reduction.

In the 1980s, Liverpool and the wider Merseyside area helped shape what became known as the Mersey Harm Reduction Model — a practical, compassionate and honest public health response to drug use, injecting risk and HIV.

It was rooted in a simple but powerful idea: if people are at risk, you do not wait for them to become “ready” before you help them stay alive.

You meet them where they are.

Needle exchanges, safer-use advice, outreach, substitution treatment, overdose prevention, honest conversations and non-judgemental support were never about “giving up” on people.

They were about refusing to abandon them.

That approach, once controversial, is now part of drug policy and practice across much of the world. Harm reduction is now recognised in national policy documents in more than 100 countries — because the evidence is clear, and the humanity is impossible to ignore.

Today, we also remember Russell Newcombe, who died in 2024. Russell was closely associated with Liverpool’s harm reduction movement and is credited as the first person to use the term “harm reduction” in print in 1987. His work helped give language, confidence and legitimacy to something frontline workers and people who used drugs already knew:

Keeping people alive is not permissive.

It is the beginning of hope.

Because there is no recovery in the graveyard.

People need to survive long enough to heal. They need to stay connected long enough to trust. They need to be treated with enough dignity to believe that change is still possible.

Harm reduction says: your life matters now, not only when you are abstinent, stable, housed, compliant, or ready to change in the way a system prefers.

It says: we will not make perfect the enemy of safer.

It says: we will reduce risk today, build trust tomorrow, and keep the door open for recovery whenever you are ready to walk through it.

At Hamoaze House, we believe recovery must be hopeful, honest and human.

Harm reduction belongs at the heart of that.