Leigh Harvey: Open Road

Today’s speaker was Leigh Harvey from Open Road, a local charity which works with those suffering from substance addictions of all kinds, including drug abuse, alcoholism and addiction to prescription drugs. At the moment they are helping some 320 people with drug addictions of all kinds and 40 alcoholics. However, contrary to popular belief, most addiction-related deaths come not from drugs but from alcohol. This is partly due to the fact that alcoholics are often told the solution is to cut out alcohol altogether but if this is not done in a managed way it can lead to fits and seizures.

Open Road has bases in Basildon, Chelmsford, Colchester and Harlow and works with a wide variety of other agencies to provide specialist services. These include sessions run by organisations like Alcoholics Anonymous and Marijuana Anonymous. Other services provided on Open Reach premises by outside charities include a development course focusing on women’s self-worth and workshops for those trying to change their behaviour following substance misuse. Haircuts4Homeless attends once a month to give free haircuts to Open Road clients, whether they are homeless or not.

There are also services provided directly by Open Road itself, including auricular acupuncture. An outreach worker works on the streets with Chelmsford’s homeless people twice a week and is able to refer them to other charities providing support. Open Road is also involved with the Chelmsford’s “SOS Bus”, which parks in the city centre a couple of evenings a week to give emergency help to those who have come to enjoy the “night time economy” and find themselves in difficulty.