Rise
Pathway

How It Works

Recovery from drug and alcohol misuse is a journey of self acceptance and self discovery.

YMCA Together supports people on every step of that journey through the RISE Pathway. This specialist, structured route helps people move from crisis and addiction towards stability, recovery, and long-term wellbeing.

Here’s how the RISE Pathway works.

Steps To Recovery

Step One: The Gateway to Recovery

For many, recovery begins at the Prehab group, You Matter’s first point of contact for anyone seeking help with drugs or alcohol.

Based at Warrant House on 157 Regent Road, this service is a safe, welcoming space where individuals can self-refer or be referred by other people and organisations such as prisons, the probation service, hospitals, and hostels.

Every Friday from 10.30, our team hosts group sessions that act as an introduction to recovery. People attend The Prehab group for several weeks to build the confidence to take their next step.

These drop-in sessions help participants get used to the idea of talking about their situation in groups and help them start to plan for detox or treatment.

Most people attend five or six Prehab groups before moving forward to assessment. Once they’ve shown commitment to recovery, we refer individuals for evaluation with a CAT therapist and team leader to determine suitability for RISE.

Often, attendees are still in active addiction. Staff manage this safely and without judgement, offering practical support until they’re ready to detox.
Step Two: Stabilising and staying safe

Once someone is ready to take action, the next stage focuses on stabilisation.

People who are alcohol or drug dependent or on substitute medication are referred for a detox at the Hope Centre. This 10-day to four-week stay provides medical support to withdraw from substances safely.

You Matter also works closley with New Start – a female-only Harm Reduction Service, which supports vulnerable women.

This service offers nine beds for women with complex needs, combining addiction support, domestic abuse safeguarding, and on-site medical care.

The Harm Reduction team offers one-to-one support, GP access, and harm reduction tools, such as safe needle education, drinks plans, and health testing.
Step Three: Preparing for recovery

Prehab is an eight-week readiness service designed to build structure, confidence, and self-belief before entering RISE. This nine-bed residential programme provides therapy, workshops, and holistic sessions, including yoga, meditation, and walking groups.

Residents complete an eight-week residential programme with daily groups, therapy sessions, and holistic activities. Consistent attendance demonstrates readiness for RISE and ensures continuity of care.

Here, residents begin to unpick old habits, develop coping tools, and experience daily community life. Staff focus on empowerment over instruction, helping people to address limiting beliefs and discover that they can change.

By the end of the eight weeks, most residents are ready to move forward into treatment at RISE.

Here’s Everything You Need to Know About Prehab
Step Four: Recovering Together

RISE is a comprehensive 18-week residential rehabilitation service where people live together in recovery. The programme offers a variety of recovery journeys through Recovery Dharma, SMART and Steps Programme, combining group therapy, workshops, and one-to-one sessions based on Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT).

Residents learn to deal with their emotions, recognise patterns of behaviour, and build resilience through daily structure and peer connection.

Many staff at RISE are in recovery themselves, helping residents find common ground and see that long-term change is possible. The community approach is central to its success, with shared experience and group support replacing isolation and shame.

WHAT IS CAT
Step Five: Learning to live again

After RISE, residents move into Step Down, a lower-intensity, 18-week programme that bridges the gap between supported recovery and independent living.

Step Down residents attend fewer groups and meetings, and are encouraged to take control of their own routine before full community reintegration.

While this service is staffed 24/7, the focus shifts towards independence, helping people learn skills such as budgeting, cooking, and time management. Often, residents reconnect with family or work during their time here.

By this stage, recovery is less about treatment and more about community reintegration.
Step Six: Staying connected

Once a resident completes their time at Step Down, they may move into shared abstinence housing or supported flats through partnerships such as YMCA Hill Street or New Start’s The Harmony Project. Others return to their family home or move into independent accommodation.

However, support doesn’t end there. YMCA’s Relapse Prevention and Aftercare service provides ongoing one-to-one support, weekly groups, and check-ins for up to three months.

Many Step Down graduates return as volunteers or mentors, helping others take their first steps towards recovery.

A Pathway Built on Partnership

What makes the RISE Pathway unique is how closely each part of the service works together. Staff collaborate daily across housing, health, and recovery teams to make sure no one slips through the cracks.

Partnerships with organisations such as Whitechapel Centre, Access, Red Umbrella, Brownlow Health, and local detox and hostel services are key to this joined-up approach. These relationships mean people receive consistent support even when their needs change.

From first contact to long-term aftercare, every service connects, communicates and meets people where they’re at, ensuring that when someone is ready to recover, we’re always here to help them take the next step.

How To Access Support

You can call our rehab service on 0151 474 0685 and find information about your local service below.

DRUG TREATEMENT

ALCOHOL SUPPORT

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RisePathway

How It Works

Steps To Recovery

A Pathway Built on Partnership

How To Access Support

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Rise
Pathway