We entered the Investors in People Awards to celebrate the power of recovery and the incredible work taking place across North East Lincolnshire. Since 2012, Creative Start Arts in Health CIC has been built on the knowledge, creativity and lived experience of people in recovery from addiction. We are proud to be the region’s independent lived experience recovery organisation.
We believe people in recovery not only make vital changes to stay well but can go on to achieve great things through resilience, determination and a solution-focused approach.
This award is a chance to highlight the achievements of those we’ve supported: restoring the first building for community use in Grimsby Docks Heritage Action Zone; launching the region’s first abstinence-based drop-in service; creating and running the first Recovery Café; and producing over 40 large-scale public artworks across North East Lincolnshire.
There is a growing movement to change perceptions of recovery. Through Recovery Town Grimsby, we work with community groups, businesses, education and local government to support recovery journeys shaped by individuals on their own terms and timescales.
We create environments where people feel genuine ownership of projects, often leading their own based on their passions and skills. Our non-judgemental spaces offer safety, understanding and the chance to be heard. Alongside recovery work, we’re a recognised force in the region’s arts and culture sector, supporting many local and national artists.
Our work proves that those often written off by society, with the right support and trust, can become a powerful force for community development, improving their own lives and the places they belong to. Seeing individuals we’ve supported go on to live with renewed ambition and purpose is our greatest pride.
To us, it shows that the conversation is changing. We believe that being shortlisted for such a recognised and respected award demonstrates that the work we are doing is a microcosm of a national shift to understand the unique value of people with lived experience. People are becoming more aware and more educated around the process of recovery, its links to trauma and its prevalence across all of society.
We believe that the values held by people in recovery such as humility, honesty, integrity and resilience are values that all employers would seek to have in their workforce and that with a changed mindset, without stigma, this incredible resource of people will be valued in the right way.
Being shortlisted gives us real gratitude that there is a movement driving progress away from stigma, not just locally, but on a national level. We are honoured to be part of this movement and recognition of this nature gives us hope that lasting change can be achieved.
Winning an Investors in People 2025 award would help us to communicate our message, values and mission to a national level. It would be massive recognition that our model of personal development, utilising creativity, is something that could be adopted by other areas as a framework to support individuals to achieve their full potential.
It would be further evidence of what is truly possible for the community of people who we support. For those seeking to bring about change in their lives and to escape addiction it will provide evidence of what is truly possible. Not just to settle for acceptable but to aim high with hope.
Being counted alongside the sheer breadth and range of organisations involved in the Investors in People community gives us a strong feeling of connectedness and being valued and appreciated. It has given us the time to pause and reflect on the achievements and progress we have made over the years and that the toil and challenges involved have been worth it.
We want to be inspired by the organisations involved across all sectors, to learn lessons from the experience of others and also to bring our own passion to share with those we meet. We see that there is a chance to drive forward with greater momentum a national conversation, make it easier for people across society to access the support they need and to continue breaking down the barriers of stigma.
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