We highly value all our stakeholder relationships and it is always a particular pleasure to receive visits from local Councillors. We were therefore delighted to personally welcome two Staffordshire County Councillors to the BAC O’Connor Centre recently and are extremely grateful for their feedback:
“I found the whole experience so uplifting and I came away with a better understanding of the tremendous work that you and the team are delivering every day that fosters hope, wellbeing and support delivered to those who are at the most vulnerable time of their lives clearly demonstrated by the telling of their own stories and recognising that help is there delivered by dedicated staff who have great pride in what they are achieving day in day out.” Mike Wilcox (Cabinet Member Health & Care)
“We were very impressed with the units, the staff and of course the diversity of the community of users that were kind enough to accept our presence there.
There were many highlights from our visit, all were individually inspiring and interesting, it would be difficult to choose one above the other.
For me, the lasting impression that I will take away from our visit was the meeting with the community of users who were kind and brave enough to provide accounts of their personal journeys in front of more strangers who they had never met. This was very powerful stuff indeed. Every single account was unique and diverse as their owners. I only wish that we had more time to hear from everyone who had wished to contribute as the successful transitional processes are down to every single participant there and making that first massive step in coming forward, asking for help in the first place and engaging with the excellent array of staff and volunteers.
It is up to people like us to help to spread the word about the fabulous work and achievements going on in Staffordshire with the view of firstly ensuring that the future remains bright for BAC O’Connor and secondly, with your help, increase the profile and awareness further in the wider community and hopefully encourage others to engage and support the work at the centre. I also want to take away the message that there is still much more work that can be done to help educate the lack of understanding and look at some of the often-misunderstood groups such as those with dual diagnosis and neuro diverse origins.” Paul Northcott (Cabinet Support Member for Public Health, Integrated Care and Safeguarding)
Kendra Gray (Chief Executive Officer, BAC O’Connor) commented: We believe it is people working together who create change. Our purpose and passion is to support people to make changes in their lives and support them to tackle their dependence on drugs and alcohol, rebuild their lives, reunite families and become contributing members of their community. We were really pleased to receive such positive feedback from Mike and Paul and by their commitment to spreading awareness about our work in Staffordshire. Their support in promoting understanding and support for often misunderstood groups, such as those with dual diagnoses and neurodiverse backgrounds, aligns perfectly with our mission. We are also grateful to them for their offer to raise awareness of the services provided in Staffordshire and to reducing the stigma surrounding addiction.
To Mike, Paul, and the entire Staffordshire County Council, thank you for believing in the power of recovery and for championing our cause. We look forward to continuing our work with Staffordshire County Council to ensure our centre continues to thrive and remains a beacon of hope for all.