Fears Birmingham addiction treatment centres could close

Helen Nickolds said a part of her died when her daughter died

The mother of a fitness trainer who died of an overdose says more lives could be lost if drug and alcohol treatment centres close in Birmingham.

Hannah Hathaway, 27, from Pelsall received detox treatment for drug use and was supported by Recovery Central in Digbeth before she died last year.

Despite helping more than 1,000 people with drug dependency, the facility is now facing the threat of closure.

"The centre is extremely important," Ms Hathaway's mother Helen Nickolds said.

"It gives addicts and their families the chance to rebuild their lives again."

Recovery Central run by Changes UK since 2014, currently provides accommodation for 65 vulnerable adults at recovery houses in Birmingham.

Hannah Hathaway was a keen fitness trainer

But the charity is facing mounting debts and has struggled to secure long-term funding since the pandemic.

It is also worried that merging with another addiction charity, The Forward Trust, will be hampered by legal issues.

Recovery Central provided Ms Hathaway with intensive support, but she relapsed shortly before her death and suffered a cardiac arrest following a methadone overdose.

"Part of me died when Hannah died. The support of Changes UK was always welcome and they are very, very special people," Ms Nickolds said.

"If it closes, there will be more deaths."

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that in 2022, there were 102 drug-related deaths in Birmingham, which accounted for almost half of the total for the wider West Midlands, which was 207.

The number of deaths has increased by 15% over the past two years, prompting concern over the viability of services supporting people with drug and alcohol addictions.

'Extremely challenging'

Anthony Cokeley, Operations Director at Changes UK, said these services had never been more important to people experiencing addiction in Birmingham.

"Demand for services like ours is soaring. In the wake of the pandemic, the ongoing cost of living crisis, and shifts in funding means the last few months have been extremely challenging," he said.

The charity is in ongoing merger talks with The Forward Trust, a national addiction recovery charity, but progress has been stalled over a legal restriction on Changes UK's Digbeth home, which among other things has prevented them from borrowing against it.

The charity received public health funding of about £800,000 which enabled them to open the building in 2014, and the restriction - known as a legal charge - was placed on the building at the same time.

Recovery Central in Digbeth is ran by Changes UK

A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said it was in an "ongoing discussion with Changes UK" but the "rationale for this registered charge has not changed".

Change UK described this as a hurdle to the proposed merger.

"It is distressing that these services are under threat of closure, and Forward Trust are doing everything we can over the Christmas period to give the staff and residents of Changes UK a way forward in the new year', said Mike Trace, CEO of Forward Trust.

Mr Cokeley added: "The merger is crucial in supporting our dedicated staff and preserving services that are a lifeline for hundreds of clients.

"Failure to find additional funding means Changes UK will cease to exist - a scenario too devastating to contemplate."