Painting by painting, mural by mural, we're supporting real recovery from addiction throughout local communities in North East Lincolnshire.

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Black Gull

A community venue for all...

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The Great Escape

Escape the ordinary...

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The Comeback

Start your recovery journey...

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The Art Of Recovery

Find recovery with creativity...

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'We have found for many, art and creative activities in a like-minded community setting are a great way to successfully clear the mind from the fog of addiction, avoid relapses and cravings and slow down the turmoil of the brain'.

The full documentary from the Creative Start community mural project 'Paint The Town Proud'. Watch more videos and find out more about the project by downloading the final project report...

Paint The Town Proud

Creative Start Arts In Health CIC are a multi-award winning, lived experience, recovery organisation helping to rebuild the lives of people in recovery and their families.


We promote an abstinence-based peer-support recovery approach, provided by a network of lived-experience volunteers and supporters.


We run community art projects and restore safe, creative workspaces throughout Grimsby and Cleethorpes designed to inspire creativity and build a community dedicated to reducing the stigma of addiction that many experience in their daily lives.

More About Us

'The Comeback is always stronger than the Setback'


Start Your Recovery Journey at 'The Comeback'...

Addiction Recovery Drop-In Service, Arts Gallery and Studio Workspace in Grimsby.

Although there is support for people in active addiction available in Grimsby and Cleethorpes, there is very little support and limited activities for people who are in a programme of abstinence.


Based at Abbey Walk in Grimsby and open weekdays from 10am to 3pm, we started 'The Comeback' in Grimsby as an opportunity for us to help change that.


'The Comeback' is a space to make new connections and meet others in recovery from addiction.


Friendship and community can be really important for anyone who is in early recovery. When people first become free of addiction, they can feel lonely, highly vulnerable and have a lot of uncertainty about the future.


Spending time with others in recovery as part of our community can be inspirational and fun, living proof that it is possible to build a good life away from addiction and a great way to avoid relapses from boredom!

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Find something to fuel your recovery.

We've got plenty of activities, community projects and initiatives for volunteers and members of the recovery community alike.

Recovery Community

We've got plenty of activities, community projects and initiatives for volunteers and members of the recovery community alike.

31 Jul, 2022
The College of Lived Experience Recovery Organisations (CLERO) has emerged in the course of the last year as a powerful force for building an evidence base for recovery community organisation and for generating a positive radius of trust and hope. This will grow into a set of quality standards and a network of recovery organisations committed to evidencing what they do and championing innovation that is embedded in a set of clearly articulated values including transparency, openness and trust. The CLERO has been boosted by support and engagement from Dame Carol Black who is looking to the group for guidance around the role of recovery and organisations and by a small grant from the Big Lottery to develop our work. One of the key aspects of this is the support and training of a group of lived experience peers in the principles of research. This is not an abstracted academic course but training and development geared towards the first engagement phase of work done with LEROs across the UK. We are delighted to become a part of this exciting and challenging project to connect, support and encourage the development of Lived Experience Recovery Organisations around the UK as a Member. Want to be a part of CLERO too? Become a member here What are the Underlying Principles of a LERO? Principle 1: Informed by a primary relationship with their community and who act in response to the needs and aspirations of their community, recognising and employing the assets and competencies that already exist Principle 2: Everything done in and by a LERO is driven through co-production Principle 3: All activities will be informed by a rights-based approach, including the right to health The History of CLERO Starting in May 2020, a group of 10 champions of recovery from different corners of the recovery ecosystem began to meet on a weekly basis to share their thoughts and support each other and an agenda quickly developed consisting of five objectives: To expand the scope beyond a narrow definition of recovery to include all of those damaged by exclusion and marginalisation – and so the term LERO (Lived Experience Recovery Organisation) was born To provide a platform for sharing and disseminating the Innovations that are central to recovery oriented organisations To agree on a core set of Values for Lived Experience Recovery Organisations To create an Evidence-Base for recovery organisations to provide credibility and professionalism To develop a set of Standards for LEROs as a framework for growth and development rather than a cage It is no coincidence that these five objectives connect to form another acronym, LIVES. The aim of all LEROs is to support individuals, families, and communities to lead positive and meaningful lives that contribute to the wellbeing of their communities. The Clero Mission The aim is to develop a Recovery Strategy that is signed up to by crucial leadership figures and organisations for (addiction) recovery in the UK. The focus will be on Lived Experience Recovery Organisations (LEROs), that has the idea of active citizenship at its core. We want to build coherence, trust, credibility and consensus for recovery groups and communities based on a model that promotes an evidence-based approach predicated on Lived Experience. What are the Four Objectives of Clero? 1: To identify and champion innovation in LEROs and provide a supporting evidence base 2: To provide connections and support for recovery leadership 3: To champion good practice in LEROs and to develop standards 4: To act as a voice for LEROs and a hub of evidence and knowledge The CLERO Members CLERO is aiming to create a local, regional and national voice that can support quality standards, evidence good care in formal treatment settings and contribute to policies and decisions relating to service provision. We want to help the development and sustainability of other Lived Experience Recovery Organisations. These are the current tiers of membership: CLERO connectors are (the group that will provide strategic oversight and make the connections that will enable voices to be heard on all levels) CLERO members are (the core group that will be the voice of the LEROs across the UK and help shape our strategic direction) CLERO supporters / friends are (supporters and champions of LEROs, that will help build bridges and relationships to enable change)
The mental health benefits of art
by Justin Fancourt 24 Jun, 2020
Creating art relieves stress, encourages creative thinking, increases brain plasticity, and imparts other mental health benefits. And anyone can do art.
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