Steve Jones

In the early 1990’s leaving school, I watched a growing trend amongst young people who were beginning a new career…A new career of University, clubbing and recreational drug use.  Drug use wasn’t new to the 90’s, but the rapidly changing shape of society quickly saw a UK wide pandemic, with young people barely out of school starting to misuse a cocktail of chemicals known as “recreational drugs”

I wasn’t an academic university type, but early in my career I found my passion for working with people and care. Applying all that I loved about working with to an early career within Youth & Community Services – creating services and support for young people and their families who were now experiencing the (new) and devastating effects of drug use in their community.

As the former Chief Executive of a large drug and alcohol charity in the North West of England and North Wales, I remained Passionate about changing the landscape for those torn apart by addiction, and remained focused on the development of quality services that make a difference to the lives of individuals, families and other allied health care services.

I was fortunate that I never journeyed along the path of addiction, but instead found myself shaping care, treatment and support services for those who needed it most. My own personal values, ethos, background and determined passion for change, help me shape the quality of care at Steps Together and ensure that we really do change lives.

I was fortunate in my career to be recognised for this passion by HM The Queen on two occasions. Both proud moments in my life, and that experience continue to drive me daily, ensuring we continually adapt and develop safe, quality services for those struggling with addiction at Steps Together,

The impact of alcohol misuse on our NHS and other public services has reached epic scales – hospital admissions, accidents, alcohol related health conditions, and alcohol related crime, are all issues that add a significant burden to our NHS and public sector services. The cost of this burden to the UK tax payer is far greater than the cost of residential treatment and therapy services, and has a significant impact on acute hospital resources and time.

We are passionate about supporting our NHS, and at Steps Together’s we work hard to provide a private service that offers NHS patients a lifeline for those in need. We remain committed to providing high quality services that not only support clients and their families, but also support our colleagues in the NHS and other allied health and social care services – who often feel the impact of addiction on the front line.

Being part of the Steps Together family, ensures I continue to live my passion for recovery and create services that make a real difference to the lives of individuals, families, employers and our communities and public services.