By Joshua Thetford, Team Leader at Recovery Support at The Forward Trust
Last month, The Forward Trust hosted the National Reunion to celebrate the personal recovery stories of all our Forward Connect members and Forward Trust clients, bringing our wonderful community together. Approximately 400 people attended the event at St John’s Church in Hackney at the beginning of the year to celebrate recovery with The Forward Trust’s service users.
With attendees travelling from our hubs up and down the country, the whole event was an inspiration from start to finish. From 10am, attendees were invited to the venue to visit a range of stalls, where they could meet staff and volunteers from various Forward and partner services, view incredible pieces of artwork based on recovery, create their own bracelets, and much, much more.
Throughout the day, there was a great selection of food and snacks available, including a traditional ice cream stand that went down a treat!
It was an honour to compere at the event with my colleague Mark Ash, a Health & Well-being practitioner based at HMP Downview. 
It was amazing to invite four incredible people to the stage who had come through Forward’s services. We are so grateful for their honesty in sharing their stories and for being inspirations to all of us in that room.
The first share from Lindsay set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. She opened up about her rapid descent into crack cocaine addiction, which led to crime, family estrangement, and a suicide attempt. After prison became her turning point, Forward’s recovery housing and Forward Connect’s peer network gave her the stability and community she needed to rebuild her life.
Iliario, whose team provided the delicious lunch for the event, shared his long struggle with addiction and the criminal justice system, revealing how Forward became his lifeline during a prison sentence. He reflected on the challenges of rebuilding trust and finding structure after years of isolation, crediting Forward Connect for helping him embrace his sobriety and self-worth.
After lunch, Carrie shared her heartfelt journey of supporting her partner through alcohol addiction, detailing the emotional toll on their family and the pivotal role The Forward Trust played in their recovery. Now a dedicated member of staff at Forward, it was inspiring to hear Carrie discuss the power of community and the specialised programmes we offer that not only helped her but now help the service users she works with. Her story is a testament to how recovery extends beyond the individual, empowering families to heal together.
Finally, Nicky reflected on his 30-year battle with addiction and shame, sharing how Forward programmes helped him confront trauma and rebuild his life. From failed prison detox attempts to volunteering in Forward’s Medway hub, he reveals how small acts of service and community transformed his self-worth. Now a staff member, Nicky stresses the importance of vulnerability and accountability in recovery. His talk was a raw, hopeful exploration of how peer support and structured programmes help individuals break free from cycles of dependency.
After Nicky’s inspirational story, we were treated to an incredible musical performance by Eden, an artist in recovery herself. She performed two beautiful songs and had the audience clapping and singing along – it was a truly magical moment.
Each year, the National Reunion serves as a reminder as to why we at Forward do the work we do. Our service users are an inspiration to us as staff, and the reason we work so hard – it is an honour to work with every single one of them. Here’s to next year!
