Amy Winehouse Foundation sets up recovery house for female addicts
The Amy Winehouse Foundation is honoring the late singer's memory five years after her death with a new initiative to help female addicts re-enter society.
Amy's Place opened in East London on Monday to provide a stable living environment and assistance for up to 16 women recovering from addiction at a time, according to the Guardian. The residents will be placed in a three-month program of "yoga, relapse prevention groups, and potential skills and employability based workshops."
The residence is only the second female-only recovery center in London, despite research that shows women are more likely to relapse without proper support.
"There are about six women-only rehabs [in the U.K.], and beyond that there's an even greater paucity of women-specific recovery housing beds," Amy Winehouse Foundation special project director Dominic Ruffy said. "There is only one other women-only recovery house in London and it's only a four-bed with a six-month waiting list."
"Our experience shows if you give people an extended period of time post-traditional rehabilitation treatment, you will improve the percentage of people who stay clean long-term. We have a saying in recovery that the drink and drugs aren't our problem, it's living life clean and sober."