Statistics

Open Road

• Open Road – Milestones and Key Facts 2023-24

• Is a leading charity in East Anglia and Kent providing wellbeing initiatives, counselling, and practical help for people affected by drug or alcohol addiction and other health and social problems.

• Helped approximately 8,000 people with a wide range of problems in 2023/24, including 3,316 in structured drug and alcohol treatment.  Content goes here

• Operates seven major drug and alcohol treatment centres in Basildon, Chelmsford, Clacton, Colchester, Chatham, Gillingham, and Harlow.

• Provides services across Essex and Medway from various service points including our own buildings, GP practices, schools, community centres and other facilities, as well as through phone and video calls.

• Young Persons Services in Southend and Medway consistently deliver outreach and promotional activities to raise awareness of substance misuse services, attracting over 3900 attendees in 2023/24. A comprehensive workshop programme focusing on substance misuse and harm reduction was introduced, tailored specifically for local schools and colleges. In 2023/24, a total of 109 workshops were delivered reaching 2093 attendees.  Content goes here

• Helps our service users into recovery: 65% of those exiting an Open Road drug & alcohol service during 2023/24 successfully completed their treatment programme, either reducing their use or becoming drug free.

• Supports individuals to enhance wellbeing, with service users reporting a 40% improvement in overall quality of life upon exiting treatment in 2023/24.

• Leads delivery of needle exchange provision at pharmacies throughout Essex. The needle exchange project distributed over 144,000 clean needles in 2023/24, to 2,229 individuals.   Provides a harm minimisation programme and needle exchanges to prevent the spread of blood borne viruses and provide a pathway into treatment. In 2023/24, 266 substance users accessed the needle exchanges at our centres, and 21,000 needles were dispensed.  

• Volunteers regularly operate the SOS buses at the weekends in Chelmsford and Colchester. In 2023/24, they assisted 748 people during nights out, preventing 214 ambulance calls and saving the NHS approximately £90,000.

• SOS bus community projects offer a wide range of support, including assistance with housing, financial concerns, mental health, and welfare. In 2023/24 they helped 1,398 people across Essex with various health and social issues.

• Delivers the Appropriate Adult service across Essex, which protects the rights and welfare of young people and vulnerable adults detained or interviewed by the police. The service attended 832 calls in 2023/24. Content goes here

• Collaborates with GP surgeries to support people addicted to prescription medication. In 2023/24 we provided one-to-one support to 264 individuals across multiple surgeries in Essex.

• Developed our IPS (Individual Placement Support) service, supporting 322 individuals across Essex with their journey towards employment in 2023/24. Of these individuals, 55 went on to find employment through the service.

• Through the EPS service which launched in August 2023, we provided employment support, training, and education opportunities to 116 individuals. The Criminal Justice and Complex needs team assists those with a history of substance use or convictions who continue to face barriers to employment and other opportunities.

• Mentored 44 youth offenders in Cookham Wood prison as part of the MOPAC ‘Through the Gate’ project, supporting young offenders who have also been victimised, with the aim to reduce re-offending and improve mental health and wellbeing.

• Provided a welfare service at the Wilderness Festival in Oxfordshire, assisting a total of 1012 individuals. Support included advice on drug and alcohol issues, reuniting lost children with their families and offering medical advice and first aid.

• Works in partnership with Drug & Alcohol Action Teams, police forces, criminal justice services (inc. prisons and the National Probation Service, local authorities, social services, and youth offending), the NHS (inc. NELFT and EPUT), and other voluntary sector organisations including Forward Trust, and our Essex Choices service consortium partners The Children’s Society.

• Employs 130 members of staff and works with 110 volunteers and mentors. In 2023/24 11 volunteers were recruited to employed staff.

In 2021/22, Open Road:

• Is a leading charity in East Anglia and Kent providing wellbeing initiatives, counselling, and practical help for people in affected by drug or alcohol addiction and other health and social problems.

• Helped approximately 8400 people with a wide range of problems in 2021/22, including 2660 in structured drug and alcohol treatment and 350 offenders. 

• Helps our service users into recovery: 72% of those exiting an Open Road drug & alcohol service during 2021/22 successfully completed their treatment programme (865 individuals)

• Supports people to advance wellbeing, with clients reporting an average improvement of 45% in their psychological health upon exiting treatment.

• Operates seven major drug and alcohol treatment centres in Basildon, Chelmsford, Clacton, Colchester, Chatham, Gillingham, and Harlow.

• Operates outreach and provides services across Essex and Medway from service points in our own buildings, GP practices, schools, community centres and other facilities, and via phone and video.

• • Volunteers were able to operate the SOS buses regularly at the weekends in Chelmsford, Colchester Clacton & Harwich, and supported 1469 individuals with various needs, and prevented 320 calls for an Ambulance/ hospital visit. Content goes here

• Continued to offer remote appointments, seeing a hybrid of face-to-face and telephone/ video appointments following the ease of lockdown measures. In 2021/22, our Essex substance misuse service booked over 8400 phone/video appointments – 49% of our total appointments for the year.

• In Medway, we continued to operate from our main centre, outreach sites and schools to see young people on a 1:1 basis, offering 750+ appointments throughout the year.

• Were also able to deliver specialist drug and alcohol awareness training and promotion to more than 1000 people across multiple agencies in the Medway community.

• Delivers the Appropriate Adult service across Essex, which protects the rights and welfare of young people and vulnerable adults detained or interviewed by the police. The service attended 874 calls in 2021/22.

• Provides a harm minimisation programme and needle exchanges to prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis and provide a pathway into treatment for drug and steroid users. In 2021/22, 208 substance users accessed the needle exchanges at our centres, and 13,000 needles were dispensed.

• Leads delivery of needle exchange provision at pharmacies throughout Essex. This project distributed 139,000 clean needles in 2021/22, to 2500 individuals.

• Works in partnership with Drug & Alcohol Action Teams, police forces, criminal justice services including prisons and the National Probation Service, local authorities, social services, youth offending, the NHS including NELFT and EPUT, and other voluntary sector organisations, including Forward Trust, and our Essex Choices service consortium partners The Children’s Society.

• Started a new project working from GP surgeries with people who are addicted to prescription medication, supporting 50 individuals providing 1:1 support across multiple surgeries in Essex.

• Implemented the pioneering IPS (individual placement support) service in December, receiving 100 referrals in the first few months to assist those in drug and alcohol recovery to discover and pursue career opportunities, and have built relationships with over 200 employers so far.

• Has a turnover of £3,323,513 in 2021/22 funded through Public Health, Local Councils, North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group, Mid Essex Clinical Commissioning Group, Charitable Trusts and donations from businesses and individuals.

• Employs 107 members of staff and works with 170 volunteers and mentors. In 2021/22 7 volunteers were recruited to employed staff.

In 2020/21, Open Road:

• Is a leading charity in East Anglia and Kent providing wellbeing initiatives, counselling, and practical help for people in affected by drug or alcohol addiction and other health and social problems.

• Continued operating through COVID-19. Not all of our projects were able to run, but we were able to adapt most of them to continue to support many people in need.

• Helped approximately 8000 people with a wide range of problems in 2020/21, including 2712 in structured drug and alcohol treatment and over 450 offenders.

• Helps our service users into recovery: 78% of users exiting an Open Road structured service during 2020/21 successfully completed their treatment programme.

• Donated the use of our SOS buses to support the COVID vaccination program.

• Started an LGBTQ+ outreach project to research barriers against people in that community engaging in substance misuse treatment to using our services – we will use the results to improve.

• Operates seven major drug and alcohol treatment centres in Basildon, Chelmsford, Clacton, Colchester, Chatham, Gillingham, and Harlow as well as substance misuse treatment in HMP YOI Cookham Wood.

• Operates outreach and provides services across Essex and Medway from service points in our own buildings, GP practices, schools, community centres and other facilities, and via phone and video.

• Moved to remote appointments. In 2020/21, our Essex substance misuse service booked over 12000 phone/video appointments – 52% of our total appointments for the year. 76% of face to face appointments were attended compared to 66% of phone appointments. However, the face to face appointments include joint meetings with NHS prescribers and court-ordered Drug Rehabilitation Requirements.

• Delivers the Appropriate Adult service across Essex, which protects the rights and welfare of young people and vulnerable adults detained or interviewed by the police. In 2020/21, we added a night time service. The service attended 908 calls in 2020/21.

• Provides a harm minimisation programme and needle exchanges to prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis and provide a pathway into treatment for drug and steroid users. In 2020/21, 187 substance users accessed the needle exchanges at our centres, and 11927 needles were dispensed.

• Leads delivery of needle exchange provision at pharmacies throughout Essex. This project distributed 156275 needles in 2020/21, to 2626 individuals.

• Works in partnership with Drug & Alcohol Action Teams, police forces, criminal justice services including prisons and the National Probation Service, local authorities, social services, youth offending, the NHS including NELFT and EPUT, and other voluntary sector organisations, including Forward Trust, and our Essex Choices service consortium partners The Children’s Society.

• Has a turnover of £2,987,775 in 2020/21 funded through Public Health, local councils, North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group, Big Lottery, CRCs, Essex Community Foundation, charitable trusts and donations from businesses and individuals.

Employs 99 members of staff and works with 190 volunteers and mentors. In 2020/21 we employed 5 ex-volunteers

In 2019/20, Open Road:

• Helped over 9000 people with a wide range of problems including 2789 in structured drug and alcohol treatment and over 400 offenders.

• Achieved Recovery: 75% of users exiting an Open Road structured service successfully completed their treatment programme.

• Started delivering drug and alcohol support at a new refuge for women with complex domestic abuse and substance misuse problems – this level of combined support is very needed but extremely rare.

• Continued the expansion of our SOS Bus service in Colchester and Chelmsford to London. In 2019/20, over 1100 people were supported on an Open Road SOS Bus, and while the service was shut down for the COVID-19 lockdown we lent our buses to the NHS.

• Operated 7 major drug and alcohol treatment centres in Basildon, Chelmsford, Clacton, Colchester, Chatham, Gillingham, and Harlow as well as substance misuse treatment in HMP YOI Cookham Wood.

• Operated outreach and provided services across Essex and Medway from service points in our own buildings, GP practices, schools, community centres and other facilities.

• Continued expanding our street drinker outreach, from a start in Colchester we now also cover Chelmsford and Clacton.

• Launched our Drink Aware service protecting club-goers in Colchester and Chelmsford.

• Provided welfare services at the Latitude festival, and a third year of service at the Steel Yard festival in London.

• Delivered the Appropriate Adult service across Essex, which protects the rights and welfare of young people and vulnerable adults detained or interviewed by the police. The service attended 1096 calls in 2019/20.

• Provided a harm minimisation programme and needle exchanges to prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis and provide a pathway into treatment for drug and steroid users. In 2019/20, approximately 230 substance users accessed the needle exchanges at our centres, and approximately 30000 needles were exchanged

• Led delivery of needle exchange provision at pharmacies throughout Essex. This project was transitioned to a computerised system and distributed 364, 838 needles.

• Worked in partnership with Drug & Alcohol Action Teams, police forces, criminal justice services including prisons, the National Probation Service and community rehabilitation companies, local authorities, social services, youth offending, the NHS including NELFT and EPUT, and other voluntary sector organisations, including Forward Trust, and our Essex Choices service consortium partners The Children’s Society.

• Had a turnover of £2,987,775 in 2019/20 funded through Public Health, local councils, North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group, Big Lottery, CRCs, charitable trusts and donations from businesses and individuals.

In 2018/19, Open Road:

• Helped over 11000 people with a wide range of problems including 3325 in structured drug and alcohol treatment and over 300 offenders.

• Achieved Recovery: 78% of users exiting an Open Road structured service successfully completed their treatment programme.

• Started our Time to Change Medway Wellness service, which supports people in recovery with volunteering and mentoring and groups and diversionary activities.

• Piloted an expansion of our SOS Bus service in Colchester and Chelmsford to London. In 2018/19, over 1200 people were supported on an Open Road SOS Bus.

• Operates 7 major drug and alcohol treatment centres in Basildon, Chelmsford, Clacton, Colchester, Chatham, Gillingham, and Harlow as well as substance misuse treatment in HMP YOI Cookham Wood.

• Operated outreach and provided services across Essex and Medway from service points in our own buildings, GP practices, schools, community centres and other facilities.

• Provided welfare services at the Rize Festival, The successor to Chelmsford’s V Festival Open Road provided similar services at V Festival for twelve years. We provided a second year of service at The Steel Yard festival in Liverpool and London.

• Delivered the Appropriate Adult service across Essex, which protects the rights and welfare of young people and vulnerable adults detained or interviewed by police. The service attended over 1200 calls in 2018/19.

• Provided a harm minimisation programme and needle and needle exchange to prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis for drug and steroid users. In 2018/19, approximately 400 substance users accessed the needle exchanges at our centres, and approximately 50,000 needles were exchanged.

• Led delivery of needle exchange provision at pharmacies throughout Essex. This project distrubuted approximately 35,000 needles in 2018/19.

• Transitioned the pharmacy needle exchanges to a computerised system provided by Neo360.

• Worked in partnership with Drug and Alcohol Action Teams, Police Forces, the NHS, Criminal Justice Services including prisons, the National Probation Service and Community rehabilitation companies, local authorities, social services, youth offending, the NHS including NELFT and EPUT and other voluntary sector organisations, including Forward Trust and our Essex Choices service consortium partners The Children’s Society.

• Had a turnover of £3,220,1312, funded through Public Health, local councils, North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group, Big Lottery, CRCs, charitable trusts and donations from businesses and individuals.

• Employs 98 members of staff and works with 201 volunteers and mentors. in 2018/19 we employed 8 ex-volunteers.

In 2017/18, Open Road:

• Helped over 11000 people with a wide range of problems including 3262 in structured drug and alcohol treatment and over 500 offenders.

• Achieved Recovery: 75% of users exiting an Open Road structured service successfully completed their treatment programme.

• Began providing substance misuse treatment in HMP YOI Cookham Wood, a young people’s prison in Medway.

• Extended our successful work with street drinkers in Colchester into Chelmsford.

• Operated 6 major drug and alcohol treatment centres in Basildon, Chelmsford, Clacton, Colchester, Gillingham, and Harlow.

• Operated outreach and provides services across Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Medway from service points in our own buildings, GP practices, community centres and other facilities.

• Managed the Colchester and Chelmsford SOS Bus services to reduce the negative impact of the night time economy. In 2017/18, over 1000 people were supported on an Open Road SOS Bus.

• Has provided welfare services at V Festival in Chelmsford for the last twelve years. In 2017 we provided a similar service at the Steel Yard festival in Liverpool and London.

• Delivers the Appropriate Adult service across Essex, which protects the rights and welfare of young people and vulnerable adults detained or interviewed by the police. The service attended over 1100 calls in 2017/18.

• Provided a harm minimisation programme and needle exchanges to prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis for drug and steroid users. In 2017/18, approximately 500 substance users accessed the needle exchanges at our centres, and approximately 40000 needles were exchanged.

• Led delivery of needle exchange provision at pharmacies throughout Essex. This project distributed approximately 250000 needles in 2017-18.

• Employed 96 members of staff and works with 249 volunteers and mentors. In 2017/18 we employed 25 ex-volunteers.

• Had a turnover of £2,986,115, funded through Public Health, local councils, North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group, Big Lottery, CRCs, charitable trusts and donations from businesses and individuals.

• Works in partnership with Drug & Alcohol Action Teams, Police Forces, the NHS, the National Probation Service and community rehabilitation companies, local authorities, social services, youth offending and other voluntary sector organisations, including our Essex Choices service consortium partners The Children’s Society.