Build On Belief

Build on Belief is a peer-led registered charity that provides socially based befriending and support services, at the weekend and outside of traditional opening hours, for individuals who have, or have had substance use issues. It is intended to offer an interactive form of mutual aid, based around activity rather than support groups. We provide a peer to peer service that does not follow a specific model of recovery but uses the learning of staff and volunteers in recovery to support others seeking to deal with the substance use issues. Our service provision is mapped against the five ways to wellbeing. We provide hot food and one to one peer support in every service. We have a range of non-therapeutic activities including: Physical: Gym and Swim Club/Badminton/Cycling/Yoga/Walking Groups/Table Tennis Creative: Art/Music/Photography/Model making workshops Lifeskills: Gardening/Cooking/Mindfulness Groups We also host mutual aid meetings and assist individuals to access structured treatment services. We seek to engage people in meaningful activity, support them to learn new skills, and use peer-to-peer learning to aid individual recovery from addiction. We aim to provide activities and services not provided by other organisations in the sector. Service users are encouraged to volunteer, often while still in structured treatment. They are encouraged to use their own skills and interests to run activities and workshops for their peers. All our services are open access, free to use, and there is no time limit as to how long they may be accessed. They are not abstinence based, but behaviour based. We have an extensive in-house training programme designed for people who find traditional means of learning difficult. We specialise in offering volunteer placements for individuals who, because of physical and mental health issues and problems with substance use, find volunteering opportunities elsewhere difficult to come by.