A radical approach to positively influencing life-changing drug and alcohol services.

What is a community voice?

The beating heart of the commissioning cycle.

Made up of people with lived experience of addiction, Community Voice is an innovative forum which gives people the opportunity to make real impact on positive and radical changes within drug and alcohol services in Essex.

WATCH THIS SHORT VIDEO TO FIND OUT MORE

What does the community voice do?

Our forum meets every three months to:

  • Discuss the needs across the county

  • Review the research gathered by our team of community researchers

  • Define strategic outcomes

  • Decide what resources are needed to achieve these outcomes

  • Allocate funding to services

“We can do more and achieve more by working with people with lived experience”

Ben Hughes, Essex County Council

Who can be part of the Community Voice?

We welcome anybody who has an interest in what we are doing to make a radical change to the commissioning of drug and alcohol services in Essex. This tends to be:

“Everybody has an important role to play in changing the culture of commissioning. We will make sure that this is a space where everybody’s voice is heard”

Sarah Tinker, Radical Change Lead at Essex Recovery Foundation

BE RADICAL

Join us for the next Community Voice

Our next Community Voice will be held on Friday 28th February 2025 in Chelmsford.