'Connection is opposite of addiction not sobriety'

A new group has been set up to help people living with addiction and led by a woman who had her own struggles and has been in recovery for 20 years.

Chase Recovery, which has set up the group in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire, is run by Debs Bolton and other people who have addiction and recovery experiences, in an area where it is needed, she said.

"I've come back to my roots and want to give the people of this area what I got," Bolton explained. "It's about having a community, and that's what I lacked when I came out of treatment."

Data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows there were 56 drug-poisoning deaths in North Staffordshire in 2024, up from 32 in 2023.

ONS figures published this month also show 100 alcohol-specific deaths were recorded in North Staffordshire in 2024, up from 94 the previous year, highlighting a rise in alcohol addiction.

Explaining her own experiences, Bolton said: "I didn't cope with life like other people did, my brain is wired differently."

She felt that what she went through gives a unique insight into the support people need.

"I do believe that connection is the opposite of addiction not sobriety," she said.

The group now meets twice a week at the Unitarian Meeting House.

Chase Recovery is part of wider organisation, the Staffordshire Treatment and Recovery System. This is led by Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, in partnership with the county council and other groups.

Lauren Gallimore came to the organisation after being in recovery housing and struggling with an addiction to ketamine.

"For me in my recovery I need somewhere that I can connect with people because addiction thrives in isolation," she said.

She described her life during substance abuse as "completely stripped of joy".

Since then, over the past 11 months, Gallimore has worked with various services and had come to Chase Recovery's Newcastle group to help find the community she did not have before.

"It gives me meaning, purpose and most importantly friendly faces," she said.

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