Making health a right, not a privilege: Our 2025 annual report

6 November 2025

2024/25 was a year of significant change – not just for society, but for us as an organisation. We’ve seen more people than ever before accessing our services: more than 200,000 individuals across England and Scotland.

As the political and economic landscapes continue to shift, we’ve focused on responding to the challenges faced by the people who use our services. During difficult times, those at the margins of society often suffer most. Frequently ignored, sometimes scapegoated, they need our support now more than ever.

Our 2025 annual report highlights the ways we’re putting our values into practice – working to ensure that, for the people who access our services, health is a right, not a privilege.

Read our 2025 annual report

Our highlights from the past year

Earlier intervention and prevention  

Over the past year, we’ve focused more than ever on reaching people sooner – from providing young people with guidance and advice about the health impacts of ketamine, to ensuring people have the support they need to stop smoking. 

Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death in England.

Smoking rates are especially high among the people we support, and quitting smoking has been shown to help people address their use of other substances. By intervening early and helping people to quit smoking, we can therefore help them to reduce their risk of harm from drugs and alcohol, too.

This year, we launched three new smoking cessation services, as well as expanding the smoking support we offer more broadly: in Manchester, our Eclypse children and young people’s service developed online vaping awareness training and resources for professionals, helping prevent harm before it escalates. In Birmingham, our specialist stop smoking project works with those experiencing rough sleeping or involved with the criminal justice system.

We have also continued to grow our In Your Corner project, which offers a fresh approach to drug and alcohol support and a healthy vision of masculinity for young men on probation. With an impressive 90% rate of engagement and retention among those who were referred to the project, we are exploring how In Your Corner can help us intervene even earlier, before harmful behaviours and belief systems become embedded. 

Read about our early intervention and prevention work 

Addressing stigma  

Addressing stigma means understanding why certain communities are less likely to seek help – and designing services that are welcoming, accessible and inclusive. 

Our Empowering Women Everywhere project in Peterborough has transformed engagement with women who sell sex – a demographic who have historically been under-served by support services.

Through trauma-informed outreach, safe clinics and supported housing, we’ve seen cervical screening rates rise from 19% to 95%, and a growing number of women reporting crimes and accessing care.

We’ve also focused on removing barriers to employment. Our Individual Placement and Support (IPS) service helps people, especially those who often face stigma, find paid jobs that match their preferences at any stage of their recovery. We are now the largest provider of Individual Placement and Support in drug and alcohol services in England. This year, we helped create 1,393 preference-matched, paid jobs for people in recovery – with 78% staying in work for at least 13 weeks. Employment is a powerful tool for recovery, and we’re proud to embed it into our care pathways. 

Read more about how we're creating more pathways into work