Addiction charity ADAPT which helps people through therapy and independent living as they recover from addictions has seen a huge increase in demand for their services during lockdown.
ADAPT (Addicts Are People Too) is based in Oxford and offers supportive housing and free treatment, therapy and counselling but now needs a big cash injection so it can help more people. Founder and managing director Edwina Cobb launched the charity through her passion for helping others and her own experience with addiction.
With addictions up 400% since the first lockdown, more funding is now urgently needed. Edwina said: “We are really desperately looking for funding as we now have a waiting list of 16 and do not have the capacity to move people on. I am leasing two bedroom properties for people to move into but this comes at a large cost for ADAPT.”
ADAPT offers a bespoke day programme which operates four days a week, run by a team of experienced and qualified Addictions Counsellors, offering a holistic approach to recovery, including workshops, group therapy and weekly one-to-one therapy sessions.
Edwina added: “Our purpose is to offer an alternative to regular supported housing, with the view to our residents accessing the ‘best of both worlds’ to offer them the best possible outcomes in their individual journeys. ADAPT uses only evidence-based treatment models and looks at each resident as an individual, meaning their treatment plan can be tailored to them.”
Clients are treated for free and referred by prisons, the probation service and other charities. Up to 15 people can be treated at any one time and funds are needed to buy independent living flats.
For Danny Stannard, ADAPT has been a lifeline. The 35-year-old former addict is now moving on with his life and has been sober for seven months after joining the programme. He said: “I now want to help other people because ADAPT has had a big impact on me. Since I was 15, addiction to cocaine and drink was all I knew and I have been in rehab places before and walked out. This time thanks to the structure and support, I listened and without Edwina and ADAPT I would not be in the position I am. When I look back on my life, I really shouldn’t be alive. I am proud now of what I have achieved with the help of ADAPT and excited about the future. More funding is really needed for places like ADAPT.”
Matt Sharman, 42, has been clean for nine months and as we spoke had just moved into his own flat. His addiction began in his early teens as a way to feel confident and quickly spiralled out of control. He said: “Addiction soon got me into trouble and messed up my life. I lost my relationship and ended up with a criminal record. ADAPT has given me belief – they believed in me even though I had relapsed several times. The therapy has really helped and when I came to ADAPT, it was the first time I had really given it my all. ADAPT has given me a new life, I don’t think I would be here now without the support I have been given. I have got my family back and I like myself now. I feel like a different person.”
To find out more and donate to ADAPT go to www.adaptoxford.org.uk
