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December 2013 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 13
Practice exchange|
Music
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
GooD
vibrations
Kevin Westbury
tells
DDN about Jam
Straight, a place
where people in
recovery can relax,
socialise and enjoy
some good music
THE VINEYARD COMMUNITY CENTRE
in Richmond upon Thames
was opened in 2012 with a vision to continue the work with the
homeless and people in crisis that had taken place previously on the
premises. A three-tier strategy was formed: a morning drop-in café to
work with rough sleepers and people in need, a social café to provide
an afternoon place to socialise for local people and 6AQLive, a
provision of a local youth service. It is the youth service that has
developed its own vision – to enable and empower young people to
engage with issues of homelessness.
In January 2013 I was approached by ‘Tom’. He was a man in
recovery and a musician, and his idea was to have a safe meeting place
for people who were in recovery from addiction and had an interest in
music. We talked for a while about how this would look and how we
would connect with groups in the area who might have an interest.
After coming up with the name Jam Straight, we held our first session
in the basement on a Saturday night and 14 people came along. As a
team we decided that this immediately felt like a family that we would
like to support. The attendees were very keen to hold more sessions and
invite more friends – so we decided on Thursday evenings.
6AQLive provides young people with training in all aspects of
event management and café management and operation, as well as
accreditation through the AQA unit award scheme. As Jam Straight
began, we realised that this was a great opportunity for young people to practise the
skills they had learned and also have more awareness of the delicate issues around
addiction.
Having now run for several months, the Jam Straight sessions have more structure. We
book in a local acoustic act to anchor the night, and attendees can bring their own
instruments and perform to the group or just come to enjoy the atmosphere.
It has been a wonderful space to share with some amazing people, who are gifted
and so friendly. It provides a safe place to socialise with freedom from temptation and
a warm welcome. We want to promote this
session, and in 2014 we will be holding one
every fortnight so that it becomes a more
regular venue for people in recovery.
The centre is fully equipped with a sound
desk, lighting and PA, and includes a full
café with ethically sourced coffee and
homemade snacks. At present we are not
charging for entry as we see the opportunity
for people in recovery as more important –
the café makes money and the young people
get training opportunities.
For the community centre, Jam Straight is
becoming a family of like-minded people with
a passion for music, and for the patrons it’s
more than likely the very same. For me,
when we run the sessions and it comes to
closing time I really don’t want to go and
wish we could just stay there for as long as
possible. For the young people, I’m not sure
that they see anything different about the people that come – only that the atmosphere
is warm, inviting, and there is comfort in the safety of the venue.
Scott Cooper, a regular at the café, says ‘I go to Jam Straight because I love music
of all types – even more so if it’s live! The atmosphere is nice and relaxed – it sort of
reminds me of an old jazz club with the lighting and sound and leather sofas. Knowing
that the money I am spending at the café is going straight back to help the community
and people in crisis gives me a sense of wellbeing.
‘Jam Straight is one of the only non-alcoholic music venues in south west London.
The JBL sound system and onboard soundman make sure it sounds sweet, while the
friendly staff and cosy sofas make it a perfect venue for a night of original sounds and
good coffee (and bring your guitar!).’
Jam Straight takes place on Thursday evenings, and will run fortnightly from 9 January
2014. For more information contact kev@vineyardcommunity.org
‘The centre is
fully equipped
with a sound
desk, lighting
andPA, and
includes a
full café.’