Kate Middleton visited the Forward Trust in Southend-on-Sea on Sept. 24 for U.K. Addiction Awareness Week, highlighting a gardening program to support addiction recovery. Weekly sessions aim to build participants’ confidence and practical skills.
The initiative, Forward Growing, could lead to a dedicated gardening area at Garon Park for recovery, learning and community involvement, the charity hopes. Addiction Awareness Week’s “The Big Addiction Conversation” campaign aims to spark 17,000 conversations over the next year, one for each life lost annually to alcohol- or drug-related causes, with toolkits and conversation cards developed alongside lived-experience ambassadors.
Middleton became patron of the Forward Trust in 2021, after it merged with Action on Addiction, which she had supported for years.
