Bringing people together through film, to challenge stigma and build understanding

The film we are entering show's the journey of someone in addiction. Being in trouble at a very early age, trying to fit in with the older crowd and how 20 years later they are still getting into the same kind of trouble.

Upon finding a recovery community this person has now found hope, freedom and purpose and realises the sky is the limit and that anything is possible.

Neil Firbank is a Senior Practitioner at Aspire. Aspire is a joint venture between Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH) and the Alcohol and Drugs Service (ADS) and supports people to find their own recovery.

Neil formerly had an addiction to Heroin and worked hard to recover as this video shows and has spent the last 21 years of his working life helping others. During this time Neil founded the Recovery Games which brings people together from all over the UK to celebrate that recovery can and does happen through connecting with communities, inspiring hope, reducing stigma and everyone having amazing fun while doing so.

Hi, my name is Andrew. I have 12 years lived experience of problematic drinking and have been sober for almost 2 years. I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2011 and have suffered with my mental health all my adult life. This has led me to using alcohol as self medication and it ruined my life. I have lost relationships, friendships, my parents and ultimately, access to my children through alcohol use.

After a spell in hospital I decided to quit. Sober social, project 6 Doncaster has helped me change my life around and I have created this video in support for them with a weeks notice. I owe them my life. This video is a reflection of my life and all my friends at the service. Director/creator: Andrew Torr. Actor: Ashley Cowley. poetry written and read by: Roger Gibbons. .

I'm so proud to submit this film on my 9th clean-time birthday!

North Wales Recovery Communities embarked upon a weeklong expedition of challenges for Recovery Month. It was designed to challenge people in their recovery journey, bolstering their physical and mental resilience through teamwork and activity across the Snowdonia area.

Personal, aspirational digital portraits from the recovery community members of Achieve Drug & Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Services, and Next Steps project. Submitted on behalf of the below with the support of Addictions Division Community Development Department;

Kristan McGuinness - GMMH PSI Team Volunteer with Achieve, core member of Next Steps, aspiring psychologist. Sharron Bolton - Next Step core member and aspiring creative and actor. Kate Kettle - 'supermum' of 6, employed as a GMMH peer support worker in the role of Community Engagement Worker for Next Steps. All 'recovery warriors' #SoMuchMore #VisibleRecovery

Maria has been knitting since she was a child and she continues to use knitting to help stay focussed. Following years of alcohol use and issues with her mental health, Maria was even knitting while living in a tent by the river. Now, Maria uses knitting as part of her recovery and shares her work with friends and loved ones.

My name is Michael Close and im in alcohol services at Recovery steps ,Barnsley ( a part of HUMANKIND charity) I filmed and edited the film.

The film is about a friend, also a recovered client at the same services. His name is Alan Lucas and the story is about his journey through his addiction to where he is now. he's 7 months recovered.

'Hope (The Sky's the limit)' is a film which looks at trauma and struggle and being trapped in addiction. Ultimately if we identify trauma, understand it, own it, use our struggles as our strength and identify that we can accept the past with all its battle scars, we take hold of the here and now, embrace a life without drugs and alcohol, and live our lives to the fullest.

Jimi shares his story of alcohol addiction, struggling during the pandemic, and fighting to be the dad his son needs!

My name's Ben and I'm a singer/songwriter. Music, creativity and self expression is how I've telling my story and the journey I've been on in recovery.

My video is just a presentation of my work, no fancy tricks or editing. Just wanted to share some of my words and music that were written truthfully and from the heart

Caia shares her story of addiction and the impact this has had on her as a mother. Following her stay in rehab, Caia reflects on what wants to achieve to have a normal life with her daughter.

After many years of drug use, Matt reflects on the changes he has made to his life and what it means to him to be a supportive dad who is loved by his son. Filmed for the Herefordshire Recovery Service (part of Turning Point) by Karen from Healthwatch Herefordshire. Featuring Matt.

'I can't, I might', I can: The Diary of an Upwards Spiral' is a three minute animated poem detailing one woman's journey from the struggles of early recovery to being able to imagine a life beyond her wildest dreams.

Dreams and hopes look different, for different people at different stages in their recovery. Like life, they ebb and flow, change and shift and we wanted to incorporate that feeling into our film. One person's dream might well be another person's nightmare, and so we asked our friends in recovery for their help. We collected the dreams and hopes of a number of women in recovery (who have given us permission to use their words/voices but choose to remain anonymous) and have woven their words into the piece to make it a truly collaborative project.

This is a short film about how the darkness of my addiction stood in the way of me believing in myself, took away my self worth and stopped me from seeing who I really am. It challenges the intrusive thoughts of hatred and fear and replaces them with the love and hope I found through recovery.

Created and directed by Sushila Devi-Callaghan

This is a film about generational addiction, the impact it had on my life and my journey to find out who I am.

Has your head ever felt like a washing machine? It can be fast or slow, forwards or reverse, or even a mixture of all four. Recovery is progressive and you will get well if you rinse and repeat.

Rachels' story of addiction recovery. This film was made in partnership with Herefordshire's Recovery Service (Turning point) and shortlisted in the Recovery Street Film Festival in 2022.

Carlisle House is a residential Substance Use Treatment Centre in Belfast. As part of our treatment programme, clients take part in a range of creative therapies, one of which is film-making. This is facilitated by a local organisation (JourneyFor) who help the group to plan, story-board and film their idea.

The idea for this film came out of a group discussion around how difficult it is to face up to the reality of dependency on a substance and how it becomes part of their identity.

Garry began drinking at a young age to cope with abuse and isolation. In this film, he shares his journey of recovery and explains why he is now passionate about giving back and supporting others through recovery.

In a very honest and touching way we hear first had Shirley's story about her struggles with alcohol, how it affects her relationships, and her decision to go into recovery. Shirley has recently completed a 6 week residential course at Carlisle House Substance Misuse Treatment Centre. She lives in North Belfast.

Our Younger Selves is a short film written by people in recovery and told by actors playing the younger selves of the writers as they reflect back to who they were as teenagers. This film was made by Funky Films, a group of amateur film makers in recovery.

Junaid Khan has struggled with addiction nearly all his adult life. This short film explores his journey to recovery, featuring a short poem written and performed by Junaid and following a day in his life.

Hope Inside celebrates recovery at HMP Wymott. Service users talk about their own experiences of addiction and what led to their 'light bulb moment'. The stories highlight that there is enjoyment in recovery, there is hope and as one service user puts it: "it's just really, really good being clean".