STARS offers a supporting voice to adults suffering from addiction

A service aimed at people seeking help for their addiction has been launched by The South Tyneside Adult Recovery Service (STARS).

The Supporting Voices Project, delivered by STARS and staffed entirely by qualified volunteers, aims to help break down barriers that adults may face when they look to begin recovery from addiction.

Paul Booth, the Volunteer Coordinator at STARS, said: “The service has researched barriers that potential service users faced when accessing our treatment service. We previously piloted a successful scheme that provided a supporting voice at the end of a telephone to help people new to our treatment services, so we knew that a new project like this could work.”

Paul said: “The project provides people who use the service with vital information and encourages them to attend appointments.  We hope to build a rapport between clients and volunteers, helping with motivation and signposting to other services where possible, with the aim of promoting recovery at the very beginning of our client’s relationship with STARS.”

Charlene Davison, a Supporting Voices volunteer, said: “I’ve undertaken a full training programme to allow me to work with service users, and I’ve really enjoyed the process so far. I’m now looking forward to getting the service up and running to help our clients with their recovery.”