'The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can't be done is usually overtaken by someone doing it.'

From the moment we took our first wide eyed baby steps into the world of peer-led service provision, beginning with the Wednesday Badminton Club in May 2005, we have been strong believers in partnership working. From the get-go we understood that we were trying to bring something new to the treatment system, and rather than competing with all and sundry, we could achieve far more by working with other providers and the local authority. 

It was the simplest of formula really. We would bring our passion, enthusiasm and talents to socially based befriending services, happy to take advice, yet determined to walk our own path, and leave everyone else to get on with the business of therapeutic engagement and structured support. Nevertheless, from the very beginning we have worked closely with others . . . .

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

As detailed in our story, the Wednesday Badminton Club in May 2005, quickly followed by the SUDRG Weekend Social Club in December 2005 were commissioned by Kensington and Chelsea as a demonstration of their commitment to service user involvement in the borough. What a bold piece of commissioning that was in 2005! A willingness to try something completely new in allowing service users to design, implement and run their own, non-abstinent based services was all but unheard of back then. The determination of the commissioning team that peer-led services would be seen as an integral part of the overall treatment system in the borough was pivotal in shaping how the charity was to grow.

This is beautifully demonstrated in the forward to the SUDRG 2010 Impact Evaluation,  and from that day forth, the commissioning team for substance misuse and offender care in the borough have been our biggest supporters, and still commission our services to this day. 

Change, Grow, Live

We have had a long and productive relationship with Change, Grow, Live for many years and our services in Ealing, Newham, and Barking and Dagenham have all been commissioned by them. Their directors, area managers and staff team were among the first service professionals to recognise the unique value that Build on Belief bring to their overall service provision, and have bought a real passion to their partnership working with our staff teams and volunteers. This cannot be better demonstrated by the fact that the music workshop at Acorn Hall is still using the Marshall Bass Amplifier that Mark Moody donated to the project more than a decade ago!

Central North West London NHS

We have had a close relationship with CNWL NHS from the very beginning, since they have worked in our home borough of Kensington and Chelsea for many years. Our Head Office is in the basement of the Club Drug Clinic in Kensington and Chelsea, as is the cafe where we deliver our training and some of our well-being workshops. For the past three years we have worked with them at ARCH in Hillingdon to provide a wide range of activities and groups both at the weekend and throughout the week, along with the other members of the ARCH partnership, Blenheim and WDP.

Westminster Drug Project

One of our cosiest services is in Harrow where we work closely with WDP to whom we have subcontracted our services. Although one of our smaller weekend projects, the Build on Belief staff have built a close and productive working relationship with WDP to support the partnership during the week, hosting coffee mornings, and running peer-led activities. 

Blenheim

Although we do not subcontract our services currently to Blenheim, we have have been great friends for many years, for the original SUDRG weekend services was hosted in their building, and for that brave piece of partnership working, back in the days where such things were all but unheard of, we felt they deserved a mention.