National Lottery Community Fund awards 4-year grant for new Notts project

Double Impact Services, the drug and alcohol recovery charity, has received a 4-year grant of £479,805 from The National Lottery Community Fund to support people in Nottinghamshire with alcohol and drug issues.

It comes as welcome news to the charity, who have worked in the county for the past 17 years, and have provided a lifeline for people throughout the pandemic through their online and telephone-based services.

The new service, called Recovery Links Nottinghamshire, will build on this experience and continue to offer a combination of online, telephone and, further down the line, face-to-face support which can be adapted to changing external and personal circumstances. There will be a new telephone and webchat information and helpline, peer support groups, accredited courses and volunteering opportunities on offer for beneficiaries.

The service will still have a physical base at the Double Impact building on St John St, Mansfield, but the aim is to reach out across the county and provide support to those who need information about where to get support or who find it difficult to reach their local services.

Steve Youdell, Director of Operations said,

” We are very excited that we can move forward with our plans for supporting people with alcohol and drug issues in Nottinghamshire. We were very fortunate to receive emergency COVID funding, not only from the government, but also the Coalfields Regeneration Trust and the Police & Crime Commissioner’s office, which has funded vital support for local people throughout the pandemic.

The pandemic has had a big impact on people’s mental health and, unsurprisingly, using alcohol and other substances has been one way for many to cope. We’ve adapted our original plans for the new service in light of what we’ve learned over this past year or so, and we believe that this new service will meet the increased demand for information and support which we’ve experienced during this time.

It will also provide the accessibility which people these days not only expect, but really need, especially in large rural locations like Nottinghamshire.”

The service is due to start in June 2021.