This piece about StreetConnect has featured in the latest edition of The Record.
At a time when drug and alcohol related deaths are at an all-time high, and the wider impact of addiction has such a negative impact on our society, the local church has a key role to play in supporting people towards life transformation.
Street Connect is a Christian charity offering hope and opportunity of recovery for individuals who are disadvantaged by addiction and associated issues including homelessness and poor mental health.
A key element of Street Connect’s work is partnering with churches to tackle the addiction epidemic, by reaching and supporting individuals in their recovery journey and helping them towards the fulfilment of their God-given potential. Our vision is to form new church partnerships in communities across the UK.
Street Connect understand that there are many churches who want to tackle this issue but are not sure how to go about it. There are also churches who have started an outreach work in this field but are struggling to move people forwards. This is where Street Connect can help. We can train, support and equip local churches to run effective outreach and support services to transform lives.
Our outreach services consist of street outreach and drop-in cafes. We follow Jesus’ example by going to where the people are. Our support services are centred around: 1-2-1 support, community recovery groups and rehab referrals. This effectively gives people a choice of community recovery or getting away to residential rehab.
One of the partnership hubs, based in Clydebank, have regular participants who meet on a weekly basis for fellowship and support. Some participants have shared their stories and how being involved in the partnership hub has helped their journeys:
‘I have hope now when I thought I’d never change.’ – Chris.
‘I have overcome heroin addiction, which I used for over 10 years. With the help of the group meetings and one to one counselling I am 8 months clean and sober.’ – Tony
‘Since I have come to the group, it has helped me greatly. I have learned to control my addiction and I know in time I shall beat it, and I also have started my relationship with God which I really did not have beforehand.’ – William
The video below highlights what a church partnership with Street Connect can look like and the difference that can be made to your local community.
If you have a passion to impact your community, and any of the above projects look of interest to you and your church, please get in touch by completing our Partnership enquiry form which you can find on our website here:
www.streetconnect.co.uk/church-partnerships
If you have any questions on our partnerships, please contact us at [email protected] or directly to our Partnership Co-ordinator: [email protected]