We are pleased to announce that Community Drug and Alcohol Recovery Services (CDARS) has become Community Discovery and Recovery Services.
This change of name reflects the natural evolution of our organisation and the wider range of support we now provide. CDARS began 40 years ago as a psychosocial service supporting individuals experiencing substance and alcohol misuse issues, as well as their families and loved ones.
Over the decades, we have continued to grow and develop in response to the needs of the communities we serve. Today, our work extends across mental health, neurodiversity, and substance and alcohol misuse, providing compassionate, person-centred support to individuals, families, and communities.
While our name has changed, our commitment remains the same. Our ethos, values, and dedication to helping people discover their strengths, build recovery, and achieve their goals continue to guide everything we do.
We look forward to this next chapter as Community Discovery and Recovery Services, continuing to provide support, understanding, and hope to those who need us.
Military veterans are twice as likely to be unemployed as non-veterans, and are much more likely to experience homelessness, prison, or social exclusion. All these issues mean a much higher rate of depression and mental disorders. We offer this programme to support the well-being and re-integration of veterans living in our local community.
Our Military Veterans Support Programme offers a four-stage programme:
Services offered include:
As part of the programme, we also offer a choir, designed to use music and singing as therapeutic tools for veterans to re-integrate into the local community.
Funded by The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust and The Veterans Foundation, the programme aims to improve the health and mental wellbeing, skills, resilience, and prospects of disadvantaged veterans living in Merton, Sutton, Wandsworth, Richmond and Kingston. The programme is also designed to support the families and carers of veterans.
The programme will bring together a holistic set of services to meet the needs that veterans present, whilst referring them to other local services when appropriate.
The diagram below shows that we aim to cover a four-stage programme to support service users.
Our Military Veterans Programme is available in South West London, supporting communities in Merton, Wandsworth, Sutton, Kingston and Richmond.
We maintain an easy and straightforward referral process. While any professional can contact CDARS for a referral, anyone who feels at risk can call the service directly via:
Or you can speak directly to:
Any Military Veteran living in the Boroughs of Merton, Wandsworth, Richmond, Kingston, and Sutton, aged 18 years old or over.