Change Grow Live (CGL) is a

voluntary sector The voluntary sector, independent sector, or civic sector is the realm of social activity undertaken by organizations that are non-governmental nonprofit organizations. This sector is also called the third sector, community sector, and nonprofit s ...

organisation specialising in

substance misuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

and

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the Rehabilitation (penology), rehabilitation of o ...

intervention projects in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. All of its funding is statutory-based. As of 2012 the organisation employed over 1,800 workers and was supported by over 250 volunteers. CGL was formerly named Crime Reduction Initiatives (CRI), but changed its name in 2016.

History

The organisation traces its origins to a

prisoner rehabilitation Rehabilitation is the process of re-educating and retraining those who commit crime. It generally involves psychological approaches which target the cognitive distortions associated with specific kinds of crime committed by particular offenders ...

charity established in 1880.

Services

CGL is a national provider of support, treatment and

rehabilitation Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to: Health * Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished * Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be retur ...

programmes for those with substance misuse problems, crime and lack of opportunity. CGL's service users include: *Adults and young people with substance misuse problems *People who are

homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

and living and working on the streets *Offenders in

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

and those serving

community sentence Community sentence or alternative sentencing or non-custodial sentence is a collective name in criminal justice for all the different ways in which courts can punish a defendant who has been convicted of committing an offence, other than through a c ...

s *Families and communities affected by crime, substance misuse and

anti-social behaviour Antisocial behavior is a behavior that is defined as the violation of the rights of others by committing crime, such as stealing and physical attack in addition to other behaviors such as lying and manipulation. It is considered to be disrupti ...

*Victims of

domestic abuse Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner v ...

CGL services include: Key-work sessions, Counselling, Benefits and housing advice, Outreach, Mutual Aid meetings (such as

SMART Recovery SMART Recovery is an international non-profit organization that provides assistance to individuals seeking abstinence from addiction. SMART stands for Self-Management and Recovery Training. The SMART approach is secular and research-based, usin ...

, Narcotics Anonymous), Needle exchange, Sexual Health awareness, Medical assistance, Prescribing, Complementary therapies and general support in living a healthy and balanced life. CGL partners with many agencies to provide treatment and co-ordinated care pathways that include housing,

employment Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...

, education and training. CGL have a variety of different services across the nation. Notable services include their Wirral Ways to Recovery which featured in the 2022 BBC documentary, Addiction: The Recovery. The documentary followed two service users over the period of a year and looked into the "Recovery Village" that Wirral Ways to Recovery and Change Grow Live have set up in Birkenhead. In the 2000–01 financial year, CGL's income was £2.1m. In 2011–12 it was £80.8m.

External links

Official Site
*

References

{{Reflist Charities based in England Addiction organisations in the United Kingdom