Leaders hear about The Matthew Project's success

Connect Norwich gathered at The Matthew Project's centre in Norwich, and heard about the difference the charity has been making to the lives of those affected by addiction and their families.

Connect Norwich gathered this month at the centre of The Matthew Project. As well as time for lunch and building friendships, there was an opportunity for the leaders of Norwich churches and charities to hear from Rachel Chapman, CEO of The Matthew Project about the impact of their current work.

Rachel spoke about the work of the charity with people living with drug or alcohol addictions or poor mental health over the past 40 years. The centre on Oak Street in Norwich opened in 2019, and Rachel explained that "the concept of the centre is to provide a community, a welcoming, warm community that people can become a member of...and the idea is maybe they come and they feel it is somewhere they belong, they might well have left behind whole friendship groups who they used to take drugs with, or used to deal with. And so it's really important that they have a different group of people that they can become a part of."

When asked whether their approach to addiction was successful, Rachel explained that although general statistics for relapse in the first year after treatment for an addiction are around 75%, for those involved with The Matthew Project the relapse rate is below 15%. She concluded: "So yes, I think it works."

Rachel issued an invitation to The Matthew Project's 40th birthday celebrations, which you can read about here. She also explained that there is always a need for volunteers to help with groups and events.

Future meetings of Connect Norwich:
November 6, 2024 at Soul Church
January 22, 2025 at Prior's Hall, Norwich Cathedral.

You can read more about the purpose of Connect Norwich and how donations can be made here. Please contact Anna Heydon with any questions: connectnorwich@networknorwich.co.uk



Photo of Rachel Chapman speaking at the Connect Norwich lunch courtesy of Keith Morris, Network Norfolk