The Princess of Wales travelled to Southend this week to visit Forward Growing, a new community project run by The Forward Trust, as part of Addiction Awareness Week, which runs from September 19th to 25th.
Catherine has served as Patron of the social justice charity since 2021, championing efforts to raise awareness about addiction’s impact and to dismantle the stigma that surrounds it.
The Forward Trust works with individuals recovering from addiction or seeking to move beyond criminal backgrounds, helping them rebuild their lives through employment, housing, relationships and a renewed sense of community.
Over the past year alone, the organisation provided support to nearly 40,000 people, underscoring the profound difference that connection and opportunity can make in transforming lives.
The Princess of Wales travelled to Southend this week to visit Forward Growing, a new community project run by The Forward Trust, as part of Addiction Awareness Week, which runs from September 19th to 25th.
|
GETTY
This year’s Addiction Awareness Week centres on “The Big Addiction Conversation,” a campaign seeking to ignite 17,000 discussions over the coming year, each one representing a life lost annually to alcohol or drug-related causes across the UK.
The initiative that despite these sobering figures, recovery remains achievable and support is accessible for those who feel empowered to seek it.
Toolkits and Conversation Cards, developed by The Forward Trust in collaboration with lived experience ambassadors, will be distributed to help facilitate open, compassionate dialogue in workplaces and communities throughout the country.
The charity’s ambition is for these individual exchanges to coalesce into a broader national conversation capable of dismantling misconceptions, fostering empathy, and fundamentally reshaping how society perceives and responds to addiction.
Catherine has served as Patron of the social justice charity since 2021, championing efforts to raise awareness about addiction’s impact and to dismantle the stigma that surrounds it.
|
GETTY
Forward Growing, launched this spring in partnership with Garon Park, offers weekly gardening sessions to participants of Forward’s Southend Treatment and Recovery Service, known as STARS.
The programme is designed to help those in recovery engage with the natural world, building confidence and acquiring practical skills in an outdoor setting.
Activities encompass gardening, walking, creative pursuits and wider community participation, all aimed at delivering lasting wellbeing benefits whilst strengthening people’s relationship with their environment.
As the collaboration with Garon Park evolves, plans are in place to establish a dedicated Forward gardening space within the park, creating a permanent site for recovery-focused learning and community engagement.
The initiative reflects a growing recognition that time spent outdoors can play a meaningful role in supporting individuals on their path to recovery.
Speaking about The Forward Trust’s Taking Action on Addiction campaign in 2025, the Princess said: “By talking about it in the open, together we can bring addiction and the harm it causes out of the shadows. We can reframe this issue with kindness and understanding, and we can help individuals and families coping with addiction know they are not alone.”
Her words capture the central message driving this week’s activities, that open, stigma-free dialogue can transform how addiction is understood and addressed across the country.
The Forward Trust’s work extends far beyond awareness campaigns, with the charity supporting people in leaving behind addiction and crime to forge new paths defined by stability, belonging and hope.
Its reach, touching close to 40,000 lives last year, demonstrates the tangible change possible when compassion and practical support go hand in hand.