The Amy Winehouse Foundation continues to support recovering drug and alcohol addicts five years after its namesake's death, with the opening of Amy's Place.
Amy's Place is a recovery house, which is based in East London, and houses up to 16 women in its 12 self-contained flats.
So far, our capital has only one other female recovery home and that has less than a quarter of Amy's Place's capacity and a lengthy six-month waiting list.
Centra Care and Support teamed up with the foundation to make this promising venture a reality and the home will be opening next Monday.
Jane Winehouse (Amy's stepmother) of the Amy Winehouse Foundation said, 'This project will make such a profound difference to so many young women, enabling them to have a safe environment in which to re-build their lives and put into practice all the learning they have acquired through their treatment journey.
Fresh starts are difficult to make; full of challenges, but at Amy's Place we will give young women the tools and support to help them make this a reality.'
There is plenty of evidence that women are more successful in their rehabilitation journey in various types of recovery home, not only with ongoing, halfway-house style care, but also in a single-sex environment.
Dominic Ruffy, the special project director at the Amy Winehouse Foundation said that, 'women tend to come into recovery with a host of complex issues, whether that's physical, mental or psychological abuse.'
After consulting with other women in rehab they concluded there was an overwhelming preference for single-sex facilities.
Ruffy stated, 'they wanted to ensure they were either safe and away from ex-partners, or safe from their issues around co-dependency, around men … It was evident there was a clear need and the women would feel more secure in an environment [where] they knew they weren't going to be troubled by aspects from their past.'
The foundation will continue to work with the residents of the facility throughout their three-month program to provide agency in their recovery.
Ruffy said this of the facilities specific 'co-production model', '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 [in the] long term.
We have a saying in recovery that the drink and drugs aren't our problem, it's living life clean and sober.'
Amy Winehouse herself tragically died five years ago at the age of 27 in July 2011.
She died from accidental alcohol poisoning and suffered addictions and an eating disorder throughout her short, yet impactful life.
There are plenty of ways to support this fantastic charity and venture through its website.
Daisy Murray is the Digital Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, spotlighting emerging designers, sustainable shopping, and celebrity style. Since joining in 2016 as an editorial intern, Daisy has run the gamut of fashion journalism - interviewing Molly Goddard backstage at London Fashion Week, investigating the power of androgynous dressing and celebrating the joys of vintage shopping.
