A recovering addict is offering free floral workshops in Salford to help other women in recovery and undergoing hardships around addiction and abuse.
Emma Harwood, 42, who owns the Little Hulton floral shop, Bunch, has been sober for six years and now wants to bring women together to create a safe space and build a strong community through creativity.
Based in the Little Hulton precinct, Emma’s sessions will start on December 12 and she hopes to make them weekly in the new year to show others that they too can recover.
With teacher training and art therapy experience, creating things was a huge part of Emma’s recovery and staying sober, so she decided to set up floral workshops as a kind of therapy.
Emma explained: “I went to do a presentation at a rehab facility because I really want to work with recovering addicts because I’m a recovering addict.
“I thought why couldn’t it work for more people? Why couldn’t people come to this workshop and realise they are really creative actually? Maybe this is something I can do at college, build up networks and meet new people from it.
“We get a group of people together and it’s a safe space for them, they come, they talk, they make something.”
Government figures suggest that 89,525 women abused substances between April 2020 and March 2021.
Emma believes that the community of Salford could truly benefit from a safe space to talk and speak with women in similar situations.
She continued: “Recently especially I’ve come across ladies who have moved to the area who are victims of domestic violence and they don’t know anyone. I just think it could be a really lovely way to bring people together, introduce people to other women who might be in similar situations so they’re not on their own.”
After employing fellow recovering addict Carly, Emma saw just how important getting women together to talk and create floral arrangements together could be.
Emma said: “It’s a career for Carly and a career she’s really good at, she’s creative and it’s been so nice to watch her blossom and it’s kept her sober. It’s been a really big part of her not drinking or taking drugs because she has to come here and she’s doing something that she really enjoys.
“While we’re working we are talking about our day, our past, concerns we have or worries and it helps and why not make this accessible for more people.”
For Emma, coming out of rehab was a scary time. “I was literally starting from scratch. I was 36 at the time and I didn’t know what I wanted to do. So, there were all these things available, and I just took them all and one of the things was floristry. I just loved it so much,” she said.
Emma has owned the shop since the beginning of 2020 and has found that a large part of the business is funeral flowers.
“I’ve down so many for relatively young people who have died from drugs or alcohol or suicide because they’re addicts. It’s avoidable it really is, if you can just help one person then you can make a massive difference.
“In my first week of rehab, they said most of you are going to die, it’s going to kill you. At the time I didn’t believe them but I’ve seen it now. The majority of people I went to rehab with died of addiction,” she said.
If you or anyone you know are struggling from the effects of addiction, find out more here.
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