The Forward Trust is a social justice charity that supports people to recover from addiction and leave behind crime, helping them move on in life with family, friends, jobs, homes, and a sense of belonging.
Find out more on our About page.
The Forward Trust has a diverse and skilled Trustee Board. All of our trustees have the necessary skills, experience and passion in our work and values to be in their roles.
Our Chair of Trustees is the former professional footballer, Tony Adams MBE, who took over from the previous Chair, the Rt Honourable David Bernstein, in February 2025.
Our Trustee Board is reviewed annually in line with our planning cycle. Trustees are selected on a range of criteria through a competitive selection process.
This will typically review existing or previous professional backgrounds and interest and knowledge of our work. We strive to develop a diverse Board which reflects the values and representations of our service users.
If you are interested in working for The Forward Trust as a member of our Trustee Board please email us for further information.
The aim of our Ambassador activity is to promote awareness of our campaigns and services to support people break the cycle of addiction and crime.
Our Ambassadors play an important role - many of them have personally faced their own battle with addiction or exclusion, found their path to recovery, and shared their own story to help others. For people struggling with addiction to hear that other people - particularly names they recognise - have been experiencing the same feelings that they have, and seeing that recovery is possible, is hugely inspiring. Inspiring stories of hope can provide a moment of strength to reach out for support or stay the course when the going gets tough.
As an Ambassador, your level of engagement would be entirely up to you. There is a wide range of ways that you can lend your support.
If you’d like to share your own story, want to give back, or just want to support our mission, you can express your interest in becoming an Ambassador of The Forward Trust.
As a UK charity, ]The Forward Trust works in over 80 community and prison settings across England and Wales. We deliver a range of services that support people to recover from addiction or leave behind crime, helping them move on in life with family, friends, jobs, homes, and a sense of belonging.
range of support services across England and Wales in over 80 community and prison settings.
You can find in-person support via the Support pages and filter to support in your area.
Alternatively, try using Reach Out – our online confidential chat service, which is managed by a team of trained volunteers who can assist you or a loved one with a support query (9am – 5pm, Monday-Friday).
You could also contact your local service directly. Find the contact details for your local service on our talk to us page.
The majority of the support services delivered by The Forward Trust are free to service users. Like with most health-based services, eligibility to use our support services will be based on where you live.
Some of The Forward Trust’s support services have specific criteria (e.g. age, employment status and place of residence). Terms of use are made clear on each support page.
Residential support – including Clouds House and The Bridges – require payment from service users, with the exception of bursary places. Find out more about Clouds House and The Bridges.
The Forward Trust delivers substance misuse, employability and resettlement services in many prisons across England and Wales.
If you are on probation, The Forward Trust offers a range of tailored support, including:
Learn more about our Prison Services.
Relapse doesn’t mean failure – it can be an inevitable part of the recovery journey. If you’ve relapsed, The Forward Trust will gently guide and support you to reengage with our support and find a way to continue working together. We always recommend honesty and transparency so that our recovery workers can ensure you get the right level of support for you in the moment. With a high proportion of Forward staff having lived experience of the issues we support, we pride ourselves on delivering an inclusive, welcoming and safe space for you to start or re-engage with our recovery support. We can work with you to get back on track with a revised plan that fits your current needs.
Referrals to The Forward Trust can be made in several ways:
Each service is slightly different, so contact our Reach Out service to find out more about your individual needs. Please note that we cannot always accept referrals from families, loved one’s, or concerned others – particularly in our prison settings. You can contact the individual prisons for more information on this.
If you know someone who may be struggling with an addiction, it’s natural to feel worried, unsure, or even overwhelmed.
As a first point of contact, you might find our free to use Reach Out confidential online chat service a useful way of gaining personalised advice based on your situation.
The Forward Trust recognises that addiction can have a significant impact on families and loved ones. Taht’s why we also provide specialist support services to help families and friends affected by a loved one's addiction. These services work towards restoring peace in relationships where there is conflict or concerns about talking openly about the effect it is having on everyone in the family unit – including children. Find out more about our Family Support and Specialist Services.
The Forward Trust works closely with housing partners and local councils. We can help you:
We are not a housing provider but we work towards helping eligible service users to find safe secure places to live where there are barriers.
The Forward Trust’s specialist Employment Support service provides a range of support including:
Our employment and training programmes support individuals that have a history of addiction, offending, or long-term unemployment to re-enter the workforce.
Visit our Employment Services page to learn more.
Family support programmes, such as M-PACT, also support children in a family unit (with their parents). Each M-PACT programme brings together a small number of families (up to 8), usually including at least one parent (or parenting figure) with a substance use problem and at least one child aged 8 to 17 years-old. In many cases at least one other non-using adult will also participate.
The Forward Trust makes every effort to ensure we match service users with an appropriate worker to support you in your recovery journey. On the rare occasions where service users do not wish to continue with their recovery worker we work through the following process:
Above all, Forward is keen to ensure that our service users remain committed and motivated to attend. For these reasons, we will support service users wherever it is possible to do so. If in the unlikely event that the change of worker request linked to a complaint, please see our FAQ titled 'complaints'.
The Forward Trust endeavour to provide a safe environment for all service users. If you have concerns about being seen at a venue or time where you wish to avoid someone else knowing you are there (for privacy reasons), we will do our best to accommodate your request. Where possible, we can also explore seeing service users at premises other than our buildings (e.g. at other agency's buildings or satellite locations etc). To discuss and explore these specific requirements, please speak to your recovery worker, a member of the Reception team or email us: info@forwardtrust.org.uk
At The Forward Trust, we will continue supporting service users awaiting criminal proceedings in the most appropriate setting. This is subject to any legal terms and conditions, but also will be dependent on working alongside your probation officer at the probation office.
The Forward Trust offer volunteering opportunities that allow you to make a positive impact while developing new skills. We also welcome volunteers who have lived experiences of addiction, the criminal justice system, or any of the related issues that we support individuals with.
Working at The Forward Trust means joining a values-driven organisation dedicated to transforming lives. Whether you're supporting people in recovery, managing services, or working behind the scenes, your contribution helps people build brighter futures. We foster a supportive, inclusive, and progressive work culture.
Yes. Having a criminal record doesn’t automatically exclude you from working with The Forward Trust. In fact, we actively recruit individuals with experience of the justice system, with over 30% of our workforce having experienced the criminal justice system or addiction themselves. Some restrictions apply for certain regulated roles, but we assess each case individually and fairly.
The Forward Trust is an inclusive employer and is keen to work harder to encourage more individuals to apply for roles.
If you meet the majority of the Job Description criteria then we recommend you apply and provide reasons/evidence that address what skills you have to offer in that area.
If you feel that you are missing a large proportion of the ‘Essential’ components of a Job Description, you might be better to request a chat with the hiring manager. They can then advise if your experience and qualifications are worth proceeding to apply.
We are keen to break down barriers to employment. If you have concerns over ‘imposter syndrome’ or feelings of inadequacy it might not always be accurate – you may have overlooked other skills or experience that make you an ideal fit for a role at The Forward Trust.
Regardless of your previous experience or qualifications, Forward is always striving to encourage more individuals to approach us for work opportunities. You might find that there is another role for you in our vacancies, or that a short volunteering role will address any CV gaps.
If you have any questions about our recruitment and selection process, please email us.
Organisations can collaborate with us through volunteering, donations, sponsorship, or by providing employment opportunities for our clients. For more information on how you can partner with us, visit our Partnerships page.
The Forward Trust does not provide urgent or crisis support.
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999 for emergency help.
If you're in a mental health or addiction crisis, you can:
If your support needs are non-urgent, please find a suitable service from our Support page.
The Forward Trust implements robust security measures and comply with UK data protection laws to safeguard your personal data. You can read our privacy notices in full on our policies page.
If you have been a service user of The Forward Trust you have the right to make a Subject Access Request (SAR) in order to receive copies of the data we hold about you.
We will not charge you for this.
To make a SAR, please email: dataprotection@forwardtrust.org.uk.
Alternatively, you can write to us at:
Data Protection Officer
Governance and Quality Assurance Department
The Forward Trust
Unit 106 Edinburgh House
170 Kennington Lane
London
SE11 5DP
Find out more about our Privacy Policy.
Please write to us with your complaints and concerns as below:
Email: title your email 'complaint - confidential' to forward.feedback@forwardtrust.org.uk - adding your name, service used and the reasons you have made the complaint.
By post:
Data Protection Officer
Governance and Quality Assurance Department
The Forward Trust
Unit 106 Edinburgh House
170 Kennington Lane
London
SE11 5DP
We will treat all complaints highly confidentially and record them in our incidents reporting system. We will then assign the complaint its own number and investigate the matter further. You will be notified at regular intervals with an update to your case.
Find out more in our Complaints Policy.
We often receive positive feedback from current and former service users at The Forward Trust. If you know the staff name and their work location, you can send them your thank card directly to the service address. Address details for each service can be found in the Support section.
Due to data protection laws we are not allowed to disclose staff names or home addresses if these are not known.
If you wish to send positive feedback for us to record on our system, you can email: forward.feedback@forwardtrust.org.uk
