News and Stories

Alcohol recovery voices across Wigan and Leigh

“It is possible, because I’ve done it”

Staffordshire County Councillors Visit

We highly value all our stakeholder relationships and it is always a particular pleasure to receive visits from local Councillors.

Noreen Oliver 1960-2023

It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of our beloved Founder & Managing Director, Noreen Oliver MBE, Hon.DLit, who passed away on December 16, 2023, at the age of 63. Noreen was a passionate advocate for drug and alcohol policy reform, dedicating 25 years of her life to the relentless pursuit of positive change within the drug and alcohol community.

Noreen Oliver MBE receives Honorary Doctor of Letters

Noreen Oliver MBE Founder and Managing Director of BAC is to receive the award of Honorary Doctor of Letters at Staffordshire University’s Autumn Awards.

Provincial Grand Lodge of Derbyshire Freemasons Community Award

The O’Connor Gateway Trust were delighted to receive an award from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Derbyshire Freemasons at their Community Awards last night.

INSIGHT Awards

We are delighted to share that four of our volunteers have been shortlisted for an INSIGHT Award!!!

Halo Garden

The Halo Garden was created by Air Arts in 2023 working in partnership with landscape architects erz.

Remembrance and Hope

In honour of #recoverymonth we had the honour of attending a service held by chase recovery about Remembrance and Hope.

Russell Brand

In response to the recent developments concerning Russell Brand, BAC & O’Connor Gateway Trust has issued a statement confirming the termination of our association with him.

The focus of our services is and will always continue to be the client’s treatment and the services we offer. We have already made a statement yesterday to say to we have severed all ties with Russell Brand. We will be making no further comment. Our team is actively engaged in the task of removing all mentions of Russell Brand from our website.

Langan’s Tea Room Good Food Award

We are proud to announce that we have won the Good Food Award for a third consecutive time.

Straw Bale Cafe Relaunch

We have officially re-launched The Straw Bale Café at Greenslate Community Farm.

Staffordshire Recoverfest 2023

We are delighted to announce that Staffordshire Recoverfest 2023, our much-anticipated event aimed at promoting recovery and well-being, was an incredible success!

Coventry CGL Event

Attended alongside other providers of detoxification and rehabilitation service providers from across England and Wales, we were delighted to introduce ourselves, take enquiries and network with managers from Change Grow Live throughout the ‘Road to Recovery Day’ event Coventry Change Grow Live offices. Altogether a busy and productive day for Kyle, M, Marius and Janet.

ReCast Exhibition

This brand new group exhibition celebrates the power of clay and creativity to support drug and alcohol addiction recovery. The exhibition brings together work by 20 individuals who have been part of Recast, a collaboration between the British Ceramics Biennial (BCB) and Stoke Recovery Service.

Carers Event – Caring in the Community

We joined the Carers Network of UHDB, as they hosted an event to celebrate

Carers Week 2023. We took a few people in recovery and set a stall for people to come ask questions.

This year’s theme for Carers Week is Caring in the Community’ This was an exciting opportunity for Carers and the person(s) they care for to get out, meet others and access valuable information and support.

Derby University

The BAC recently teamed up with Derby University to create a series of videos to show what the BAC does and what rehab entails with us. Our very own Noreen and staff sat down and spoke through their responsibilities and roles in the BAC. Graduates and family members also spoke about their experiences and how the BAC helped. These videos are accessible for everyone and are for educational purposes, so if you’re interested in fighting your addiction, soon to be joining rehab, or have a family member struggling with addiction or in rehab, these videos will help. These videos show step-by step from entering the centre all the way through recovery and life after rehab. We would like to thank Derby University for giving us this opportunity.

Alcohol consumption in Scotland

Alcohol sales data is widely regarded as offering the most accurate means of estimating population-level alcohol consumption. Public Health Scotland uses retail sales data as part of the Monitoring and Evaluating Scotland’s Alcohol Strategy (MESAS) programme and has published two reports examining the data.

Drive to get offenders drug-free and cut crime

A £120 million drive will see the rollout of specialised wings across England and Wales which will treat drug addiction, including through abstinence, and then keep prisoners substance-free.

£4,813.09 – We did it!

This is the amazing total raised by BAC O’Connor’s Family Support group.

The money was raised through both sponsorship and a Go Fund Me page and will be invested in conferencing equipment so that our valued members of the Group who can only join via Zoom meetings can continue to receive the help and support that this invaluable group offers.

The equipment, when not used for family group meetings will be put to further use to accommodate both the BAC O’Connor Centre and Langan’s in future ventures.

Fourteen of these group members and their families aged from 23 to 71 years also took the sky in Derbyshire to brave a sponsored Zip Wire.

An outstanding fund-raising award was presented to Anita Lowe who single-handedly raised £435, along with another award being presented to Aiden and Lindsey from Goodlife Pharmacy, in Hatton, who donated £2,000 to the cause.

The Family Support Group is a highly valued resource, and the only one of its kind. Its purpose is to support families living with addiction, including those of our past, present and future clients here at the BAC O’Connor Centre and other centres throughout the Country.

The meetings take place each Thursday at our social enterprise, Langan’s Tea Rooms, and are hosted remotely for those who are unable to attend face-to-face, but still require support.

All newcomers are welcomed.

If you would like to make a donation, you can still do so by heading to the Go Fund Me page at https://gofund.me/acd4b6e8

Is rehab effective? The results are in

This summary of the research evidence provides verification that residential rehabilitation is associated with improvements across a variety of outcomes. You can read the full story here.

BAC O’Connor Centre graduate, Lauren, featured in the local press

Lauren McCabe is a graduate of the BAC O'Connor Centre in Burton on Trent, Staffordshire and volunteers at Langan's Tea Rooms in George Street, Burton on Trent

She says walking through the doors of the BAC O’Connor Centre was one of the best things she ever did and has now completely turned her life around. Read her story here.

Our founder and CEO, Noreen Oliver MBE, hosts the Home Secretary at our social enterprise, Langan’s Tea Rooms

Noreen Oliver MBE hosts the Home Secretary Priti Patel at Langan's Tea Rooms, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire on Friday, January 28, 2022. — *Noreen Oliver MBE pictured with the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, and Kate Griffiths MP.*

We were delighted to host the Home Secretary on Friday, January 28, 2022; she was already aware of the difference that BAC makes to the community and had shared a desire that she would also like to visit our wonderful Tea Rooms, Langan’s, which is run by service users who have been through rehab at the BAC.

The Home Secretary was blown away by the elegant Tea Rooms and the story behind it.

She also took the time to meet with Kate Griffiths MP who is the Patron of our charity.

Read the latest version of BAC to the Future, our magazine written and produced by our recovery community

BAC to the Future Nov 2021