Comeback Connections

Building confidence and self-esteem and raising awareness by providing evidence that recovery really is possible.

'Members of the recovery community, at varying stages of recovery, are available to share their experiences to services and organisations. We also offer talks regarding addiction in the workplace'.

At Creative Start CIC, we believe in using everything available to achieve and maintain recovery from addiction. To this end we are currently delivering a project on behalf of our Recovery Community, called ‘Comeback Connections’.


This project aims to provide connections between local people, services and workplaces in order to create more opportunities for people and families to find the support that is currently available to them.


Members of the recovery community including lived experience recovery workers and volunteers at varying stages of their recovery, are available to share their experiences to services and organisations.


Members are available to talk honestly and openly about their own lived  experiences in addiction and recovery and how they have achieved and maintained their recovery and talking about the importance of community, honesty and having purpose in recovery.

Addiction does not discriminate, it can affect anyone at any time. The lived experiences of our team who are in active recovery themselves, help to promote recovery at all levels and across a range of services and organisations.


The project is also designed to help our volunteers build their confidence and self-esteem alongside raising  awareness and promoting recovery, providing an invaluable insight into addiction, associated mental health issue and the recovery process.


We aim to remove much of the stigma surrounding addiction and the recovery process and  encourage others to seek the help, support and guidance required to help achieve their own personal recovery.

Addiction Recovery In The Workplace

Workplaces often reflect what goes on in society. Since substance addiction and associated mental-health issues are significant social problems, they are also workplace issues.


Increasingly, employers are getting better at identifying and supporting employees experiencing difficulties. But there are still many people who find it difficult to cope with their addiction in the workplace, for many reasons.


At our recovery hub in Grimsby we get many calls for help from addicts in employment.

They are often either too afraid to approach their employer for fear of losing their job or have found there is no provision for their predicament in their workplace.


Despite our success in helping these people into recovery (while still maintaining their employment), it has led us to understand the short-comings of the average UK workplace and how we can directly help organisations to improve the situation.


Our goal is to equip workers, staff and managers with the knowledge, peer support skills and an understanding of recovery resources that will enable them to signpost and support any of their co-workers, friends and families into recovery.

These positive changes can help establish better internal workplace cultures which, in turn, create enabled, resilient workers.

Providing Evidence that Recovery is Possible.

We are always looking for ways to increase awareness of our other recovery projects throughout the wider local community; our recovery drop-in and art studio ‘The Comeback’ on Abbey Walk in Grimsby, our heritage and restoration community workspace ‘The Great Escape’ and our newly opened community venue 'Blackgull', both based on Grimsby Docks.


If you are interested in finding out more, become a partner or to get in touch to organise a visit to your business or organisation, please contact our team at ‘The Comeback’.


Telephone: 07586 458586 

Email: hello@the-comeback.org

Interested in our volunteers attending your organisation? Download the application form.

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You can contact us if you want to talk through any issues you're having.

This number is manned during opening hours only. Mon to Fri 10am to 3pm.

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'Creative Start have made a massive impact on the lives of others by inspiring them to focus on recovery and giving them the confidence to pursue their own creative directions'.

CLERO - College of Lived Experience Recovery Organisations

31 July 2022
The College of Lived Experience Recovery Organisations (CLERO) has emerged in the course of the last year as a powerful force for building an evidence base for recovery community organisation and for generating a positive radius of trust and hope. This will grow into a set of quality standards and a network of recovery organisations committed to evidencing what they do and championing innovation that is embedded in a set of clearly articulated values including transparency, openness and trust. The CLERO has been boosted by support and engagement from Dame Carol Black who is looking to the group for guidance around the role of recovery and organisations and by a small grant from the Big Lottery to develop our work. One of the key aspects of this is the support and training of a group of lived experience peers in the principles of research. This is not an abstracted academic course but training and development geared towards the first engagement phase of work done with LEROs across the UK. We are delighted to become a part of this exciting and challenging project to connect, support and encourage the development of Lived Experience Recovery Organisations around the UK as a Member. Want to be a part of CLERO too? Become a member here What are the Underlying Principles of a LERO? Principle 1: Informed by a primary relationship with their community and who act in response to the needs and aspirations of their community, recognising and employing the assets and competencies that already exist Principle 2: Everything done in and by a LERO is driven through co-production Principle 3: All activities will be informed by a rights-based approach, including the right to health The History of CLERO Starting in May 2020, a group of 10 champions of recovery from different corners of the recovery ecosystem began to meet on a weekly basis to share their thoughts and support each other and an agenda quickly developed consisting of five objectives: To expand the scope beyond a narrow definition of recovery to include all of those damaged by exclusion and marginalisation – and so the term LERO (Lived Experience Recovery Organisation) was born To provide a platform for sharing and disseminating the Innovations that are central to recovery oriented organisations To agree on a core set of Values for Lived Experience Recovery Organisations To create an Evidence-Base for recovery organisations to provide credibility and professionalism To develop a set of Standards for LEROs as a framework for growth and development rather than a cage It is no coincidence that these five objectives connect to form another acronym, LIVES. The aim of all LEROs is to support individuals, families, and communities to lead positive and meaningful lives that contribute to the wellbeing of their communities. The Clero Mission The aim is to develop a Recovery Strategy that is signed up to by crucial leadership figures and organisations for (addiction) recovery in the UK. The focus will be on Lived Experience Recovery Organisations (LEROs), that has the idea of active citizenship at its core. We want to build coherence, trust, credibility and consensus for recovery groups and communities based on a model that promotes an evidence-based approach predicated on Lived Experience. What are the Four Objectives of Clero? 1: To identify and champion innovation in LEROs and provide a supporting evidence base 2: To provide connections and support for recovery leadership 3: To champion good practice in LEROs and to develop standards 4: To act as a voice for LEROs and a hub of evidence and knowledge The CLERO Members CLERO is aiming to create a local, regional and national voice that can support quality standards, evidence good care in formal treatment settings and contribute to policies and decisions relating to service provision. We want to help the development and sustainability of other Lived Experience Recovery Organisations. These are the current tiers of membership: CLERO connectors are (the group that will provide strategic oversight and make the connections that will enable voices to be heard on all levels) CLERO members are (the core group that will be the voice of the LEROs across the UK and help shape our strategic direction) CLERO supporters / friends are (supporters and champions of LEROs, that will help build bridges and relationships to enable change)
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