Norfolk’s only women’s rehab centre appeals for support to deliver vital work
Hebron House, in Norwich which has been helping women overcome addiction for more than 30 years. Picture: Staff - Credit: Archant
The manager of a female only rehab centre in Norwich has said the work it does is vital, but society still has a way to go in understanding addiction and its treatment.
The staffing team at Hebron House in Norwich. Picture: Hebron House/ Teele Photography - Credit: Archant
Hebron House in Thorpe, is a women only drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre.
Since it opened in 1987, it has helped dozens of women overcome substance misuse and go on to lead healthy addiction free lives.
The centre also recently received its first Care Quality Commission rating, with inspectors rating the centre as good when they visited earlier this year.
One of only three female only rehab units in the country, the 10-bed centre accepts patients from across Britain, the majority of whom are in the their 30s-40s.
One of only three female only rehabs units in the country, Hebron House accepts patients from across Britain, the majority of whom are in the their 30s-40s. Picture: Hebron House/ Teele Photography - Credit: Archant
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Emma Pawsey, the manager of Hebron House, said people had to reach a certain level of maturity, and often rock bottom before they could accept help and begin the journey of recovery.
She said this was often one of the hardest things for friends and family of an addict to accept: "I get desperate families wanting to help their loved one but unfortunately it's the loved one who has to make that decision."
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With the average stay at the centre lasting six months and costing £1,000 a week, the majority of patients at Hebron House are part funded by social services, with fundraising needed to cover the remaining costs.
But Ms Pawsey said despite addiction affecting huge numbers of people the service still faced a lot of stigma when trying to fund raise: "In any family tree, there will always be someone whose life has been touched by addiction.
"Drug and alcohol addiction isn't a particularly nice thing to think or talk about and sometimes when we're fundraising we are up against a lot of stigma.
"I can understand that from the public's perception it's hard when you're seeing the users of drugs and alcohol on the streets but addiction is an illness.
"There are aspects of the brain in addiction that perhaps some of us would not be able to understand but the more you work with it the more you understand the intricacies of the disease.
"What we do benefits all of society, it ends the revolving door of the NHS which some clients have been through and saves hundreds and thousands and gets people out of the cycle of addiction."
To find out more visit: www.hebrontrust.org.uk.
