A Day in the Life – Volunteering at CDDARS

In our latest volunteering blog, Adam talks about their experience of being an ambassador with our service.

“My name is Adam, and I’m an ambassador at County Durham Drug and Alcohol Recovery Services (CDDARS). I volunteer with the Family Team, and since starting in June 2024 I’ve found my time within the service – and at Waythrough – incredibly rewarding. From day one, I’ve felt like a valued part of the team.

I first began thinking about volunteering when I managed to maintain my sobriety for six months. During that time, I was very lucky to work with some amazing people who supported me throughout my recovery.

Some of the people that I worked with had lived experience themselves. This really motivated me to keep working hard on my recovery. I really wanted to give back and support others in the same way that I had been supported.

I found out about the ambassador programme at CDDARS during my final session with my worker. The more I found out about it, the more I realised it was exactly what I wanted to do.

Every day in the role is always varied and interesting. I usually help with running the Family and Friends SMART meetings, CRAFT groups and I See, I Hear parent programme. I also shadow home visits and appointments with other Family Team workers. I am currently working towards delivering the one-to-one sessions and having my own caseload.

What I am most proud of is helping to run the SMART Family and Friends groups. These sessions give people the confidence and knowledge to help support themselves and their loved ones. Seeing each person’s growth is something I find incredibly rewarding. While I am there to facilitate the conversations, people often ask me about my own recovery journey. I am always happy to share. Being able to use my own experience to support others is incredibly fulfilling. This is something that resonated with me so much during my own journey.

I’m incredibly grateful to be able to use my experiences in a positive way. Like taking lemons and making lemonade.”

Since writing this blog, Adam has now begun employment with our service.