Leeds City Council, in collaboration with healthcare partners and community members, has developed an innovative five-year plan to tackle substance use harm with a focus on recovery and prevention. The new Leeds Drug and Alcohol Strategy 2025-2030, which will be presented to the city’s Health and Wellbeing Board tomorrow (March 20), showcases a positive approach to addressing substance use through lived experience and comprehensive community support.
Recovery Champions Leading the Way
At the heart of the new strategy is the powerful influence of those with personal experience of addiction and recovery. Jules, a 52-year-old father of three who turned his life around with the help of Leeds’s drug treatment programmes, is among those who have helped shape the city’s approach to tackling substance use harm.
“I used drugs, on and off, for 25 years. But when I did something different and engaged with the services and did some work on myself, that’s when my life improved exponentially,” Jules shared. After obtaining abstinence in 2023, he has become a peer mentor with Leeds’ drug and alcohol service Forward Leeds and recovery hub 5 Ways.
His story exemplifies the strategy’s emphasis on recovery and peer support: “5 Ways is a wonderful place – everyone is rooting for you, staff and clients. I just want to help people get clean. I know what hell is when you’re going through that ‘Groundhog Day’ of drug using. It’s relentless. If I can shine a bright light on someone that there is a way out, then I feel like I’ve achieved something.”
Treatment Success on the Rise
The strategy comes at a crucial time, as Leeds is seeing encouraging increases in treatment engagement. Between 2022 and 2024, there has been a 19% increase in young people accessing treatment, alongside a 9% rise in adults completing treatment programs. These positive trends demonstrate the effectiveness of the city’s current approach while highlighting the need for continued and expanded efforts.
Six Key Priorities for a Healthier Leeds
The collaborative strategy, drafted by the Leeds Drug and Alcohol Partnership (which includes Leeds City Council, the NHS, police, prisons, probation, children’s services, and third-sector organizations), outlines six key priorities for the coming years:
- Prevention
- Harm reduction
- Treatment and support
- Social and community harms from substance use
- Protecting children, young people, and families
- Recovery
Prevention is highlighted as a particularly important focus, with plans to reduce exposure to drugs and alcohol across Leeds using the council’s licensing, planning, and advertising powers to create healthier spaces. The strategy also emphasizes improving the mental health and emotional resilience of children and young people, and providing early help for families.
A Collaborative Approach
Councillor Fiona Venner, Leeds City Council’s executive member for equality, health and wellbeing, underscored the collaborative nature of the strategy: “This strategy paves the way for Leeds to continue to be a compassionate city that works with individuals, families and communities to prevent drug and alcohol harms and to provide outstanding treatment and support.”
Victoria Eaton, Leeds City Council’s director of public health, added: “Substance use affects a large number of people – not just those who use drugs and alcohol but also their families, loved ones, carers, wider communities, and services and businesses in the city. We’re incredibly grateful to the people, like Jules, who gave us their time and honesty in sharing their experiences to help shape the strategy and create clear aims upon which to focus our work in the years to come.”
Community-Centred Recovery Movement
The strategy builds on Leeds’s existing status as part of the Inclusive Recovery Cities movement, which promotes visible recovery, challenges stigma, and champions multiple pathways to recovery. This approach recognizes that substance use issues touch all aspects of community life and require comprehensive solutions that address both health and social dimensions.
The strategy represents a positive shift toward community-led solutions by centring the voices of those with lived experience. The increased visibility of recovery champions like Jules provides hope and practical support for others struggling with addiction, creating a virtuous cycle of recovery and community healing.
The Leeds Drug and Alcohol Strategy 2025-2030 exemplifies the city’s commitment to compassionate, evidence-based approaches to public health challenges. By bringing together diverse stakeholders—from council officials and healthcare professionals to people with lived experience of addiction—Leeds is creating a model for how cities can address complex issues through collaboration and community engagement.
As the strategy moves toward implementation following its presentation to the Health and Wellbeing Board, it stands as a positive example of how local government can work with communities to create meaningful solutions to challenging problems. The increasing numbers of people successfully accessing and completing treatment suggest that Leeds’s approach is already bearing fruit, promising even greater positive impacts in the years to come.
Sources:
https://news.leeds.gov.uk/news/people-in-recovery-help-shape-new-action-plan-to-tackle-drug-andalcohol-harm-in-leeds
https://newstartmag.co.uk/articles/leeds-city-council-to-tackle-drug-and-alcohol-harm/
