A COMMUNITY which provides accommodation, training and support for people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction has received a helping hand from the Camphill Village Trust.
The Inishfree Community is based on the edge of Stroud, Gloucestershire, and thanks to the Trust's ethical investment policy it now has a permanent home where six people can stay for 1 to 2 years receiving the support and training they need to rebuild their lives. The community focuses on giving people the opportunity to build trusting relationships in a community setting and providing space, skills, education and support which help to maintain a healthy balanced life when returning to live and work in the wider community.
The CVT was approached by Inishfree which faced an uncertain future as its lease on its house in Stroud was coming to an end. The community had been working there successfully for five years but now needed to find a new home.
The CVT was keen to help and felt that the needs of Inishfree would fit in with its ethical investment policy. The idea of purchasing a property as a long term investment for the Trust and renting it to a project with ideals compatible with the Trust's seemed an attractive proposition. A suitable house was found with seven bedrooms and 3.5 acres of land in an attractive setting near Stroud.
When the purchase was completed a long-term lease was arranged for Inishfree and a grant was provided towards essential improvements. The keys were officially handed over on a glorious autumn afternoon and now Camphill has close links with a new type of project doing valuable work in the community.
Find out more at http://www.inishfree.org.uk/
Picture: The Inishfree Community now has a permanent home through the close link it has developed with the Camphill Village Trust.