A PEER-LED organisation committed to helping others recover from addictions and sustain abstinence has expanded into Sauchie last week.

The Forth Valley Recovery Community has launched a weekly Thursday café at Sauchie Hall, the second one in the Wee County alongside the already established activities at The Gate in Alloa.

It is a unique group of people who all had their own issues with alcohol or drugs and build on peer support with all the volunteers and staff in recovery.

People attending have the chance to receive support in an informal setting, most importantly, everyone understands what one another have been and are going through.

James Sludden, development worker, explained the idea behind the café initiative: “The model we are set up on is to get people with addictions through the door and support these people to a point in their recovery where they are stable.

“The ones that choose to do so: train them up as volunteers and have them running the café.”

Through training, many have gained certificates and are able to support others in taking charge and making their own decisions that put them on a path of recovery, others have since moved into full time jobs or education.

James added: “At the end of the day the community is owned by the community members, whether you are a paid worker or a volunteer, our job is really to lead by example.”

Outreach and partnership working within the Forth Valley Alcohol and Drug Partnership are also at the heart of the organisation in general.

Fellow development worker Peter Krykant described the recovery community as “another cog in the network of help and support” around the area.

He said: “Having come into the community with a number of years of abstinence-based recovery under my belt already; what I found was that this was unique, I haven’t seen anything like this: a community that links all those services together and allows that partnership working become a reality.”

The new café at Sauchie Hall, which launched on October 18, will be open each Thursday between 11am and 4pm.