PJ Smith joins team at Liverpool addiction support project Vitality Homes
Launching in the next few weeks, Vitality Homes is a venture from Liverpool businesswoman Kate Stewart to help former drug and alcohol addicts
Liverpool businesswoman Kate Stewart has unveiled a new appointment to her Vitality Homes venture which aims to help integrate those previously addicted to drugs and alcohol back into society.
Her latest recruit is PJ Smith who has joined the team as recovery community lead practitioner, with a wealth of experience having worked at Tom Harrison House – the UK’s first and only addiction treatment centre for military veterans, The Brink – the UK’s first alcohol-free bar and The Spider Project.
He is also highly engaged in music, sports, arts and cultural activities within the city. PJ joins his mother Jacquie Johnston-Lynch, who was in February appointed as Vitality Homes’ head of service.
Jacquie also has a plethora of experience including leading projects at The Brink, Tom Harrison House, and also The Raucous Caucus Recovery Chorus – the UK’s first ever recovery choir.
Having personally suffered with alcohol and substance addiction, PJ has now been sober for 12 years. The 38-year-old has also been working in the recovery services industry for a decade since his recovery.
Vitality Homes will provide accommodation and 24-hour support for people who have overcome addiction and are drug and alcohol-free. It will help to integrate those people back into society through supported living.
PJ said: “I’ll be helping those who really want to overcome drug and alcohol addiction to do so and help them to ease their way back into society. As a former addict, I can empathise with the service users on a different level.
“I will be assisting them with their self-respect, confidence, integrity, honesty and regaining their principals. Our aim is to cultivate a recovery community where people are supported in making better choices for themselves and taking responsibility for their own lives, and in addition to this I am enthusiastic about bringing the theme of arts, sports and culture to our project.”