Charity launched to help women with addiction

A new charity aiming to support women affected by addiction and help them feel less alone during recovery has launched.

Lou's Lighthouse, based in Oxford, finds them temporary accommodation and provides daily check-ins along with life skills workshops.

Its mission statement is to "provide safe, stable homes where women affected by addiction can heal, grow and rebuild their lives".

It was built on the experiences of founder Jo Wimble, who tells the BBC: "Recovery is absolutely possible for anyone, and the light is on, and we're here to help."

The 40-year-old says the charity was named after a "dear friend" who has since passed away who was a "huge part" of her own recovery.

Wimble started "dabbling" in cannabis and alcohol when she was 11. She had her first baby at 15 and a year later was living alone and becoming increasingly reliant on alcohol.

By the age of 19 she was using Class A drugs.

"I went on and had more children and I would have periods of sobriety during that time," she explains.

"I'd get pregnant and I'd get sober and I'd be a mum, but it would always just return."

Wimble ended up losing custody of her children and made two suicide attempts.

At this point she sought help but she says there were obstacles along the way.

"The problem was the mental health team was saying 'she needs rehab' and the rehab team was saying 'she needs mental health treatment'… so I was kind of stuck," she explains.

Instead she moved in with her family after years of feeling "so lonely and so isolated", and found recovery through Cocaine Anonymous.

Lou's Lighthouse moves people in recovery into HMO properties with shared living areas.

Wimble describes them as "homely environments" where "we encourage communal eating together, spending time together, things like maintaining the garden together".

"So it's like building a community, like a family, rather than just heads on beds," she adds.

The charity deals with women with a range of addictions, including alcohol, heroin, and cocaine, as well ketamine, where there has been a "big surge", Wimble says.

It also takes in women who may be on medical-assisted detoxes, who are sometimes turned away elsewhere.

"Some are so entrenched in addiction, they are street homeless, and they've got no other options," Wimble explains.

"They have tried for many, many years to get clean and sober in their own home - which was my experience - and just can't do it without support."

She adds: "I went through a really, really horrible time, and I was really fortunate in that I had family who took me in for three months and helped me to get sober and get back on my feet.

"Then I returned home, but a lot of women don't have that option.

"Lou's Lighthouse was created to give women the same love and support that I received when they haven't got anywhere else to go."

The charity, which is run entirely by a small team of volunteers, opened its first house on Tuesday.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story, help and support is available at BBC Action Line.