What has happened so far with the development of LEROs in Derbyshire?
Developing a strong network of Lived Experience Recovery Organisations (LEROs) is a key part of Derbyshire’s recovery-orientated system of care and a strategic priority for the county.
During 2025, Recovery Connections, a LERO based in the North East of England, delivered a series of Your Recovery, Your Community roadshow events across Derbyshire. The roadshows engaged local people with lived and living experience of substance use and recovery, raised awareness of LEROs and explored opportunities to develop lived experience-led organisations within Derbyshire.
The programme culminated in a LERO Celebration Event at the Winding Wheel Theatre in Chesterfield. Learning from the roadshows and celebration event has informed the development of a Derbyshire LERO Development Plan, co-produced with people with lived and living experience alongside local partners and guided by national best practice.
LERO Roadshow Celebration Event – Video
This video was premiered at the LERO Celebration Event held at the Winding Wheel Theatre in Chesterfield on 10 November 2025. It highlights the Your Recovery, Your Community roadshows delivered by Recovery Connections and showcases the experiences, ideas and contributions shared by people with lived and living experience of substance use and recovery from across Derbyshire.
Local funding opportunities
Access to funding was identified during the LERO roadshows as a potential barrier to developing recovery activities and community-led initiatives. Small amounts of funding can often help cover costs such as venue hire, equipment or activities.
Derbyshire’s eight Health and Wellbeing Partnerships may be able to provide information about local funding opportunities and support residents to develop ideas that improve health and wellbeing in their communities.
If you would like to find out more about your local Health and Wellbeing Partnership, please contact:
Amber Valley – Jane.Sheppard@derbyshire.gov.uk
Bolsover – James.Green@derbyshire.gov.uk
Chesterfield – Rosanna.Brown@derbyshire.gov.uk
Derbyshire Dales – James.Green@derbyshire.gov.uk
Erewash – Jane.Sheppard@derbyshire.gov.uk
High Peak – Bev.MunozPujol@derbyshire.gov.uk
North East Derbyshire – James.Green@derbyshire.gov.uk
South Derbyshire – Claire.Reece@derbyshire.gov.uk
LERO Development Plan For Derbyshire
Following the Your Recovery, Your Community roadshows and LERO Celebration Event, a Derbyshire LERO Development Plan has now been produced. The plan sets out a shared vision for a recovery system that is visible, local, connected and led by lived experience, alongside recommendations to support the growth of existing LEROs, develop new lived experience-led organisations, strengthen recovery communities and ensure people with lived and living experience play a central role in shaping recovery across Derbyshire.
Lived Experience Recovery Organisation’s (LERO’s) FAQ’s
A lived experience recovery organisation (LERO) is an organisation led by people and for people with lived experience of drug and alcohol recovery.
LEROs do lots of different things. They bring people together, offer peer support, run groups and activities, and help people find the right help when they need it.
Everything they do is led by lived experience, people who’ve been there before on their own journey of recovery.
LERO are:
- always shaped by the voices, needs and strengths of people in recovery
- rooted in community and mutual support
- independent and autonomous
- built on real life experience of recovery
LEROs can be large or small.
It can be a small, more informal group or a fully set-up, formal organisation.
Some are legal organisations such as charities or Community Interest Companies, and some are more informal such as local groups or activities run by volunteers.
LEROs don’t have to get bigger or become formal organisations.
What makes them a LERO is that even as they grow, they stay independent and led by people with lived or living experience of recovery
We are aware of over 50 LEROs in England working in over 70 local authorities (out of 152), meaning that nearly half of all local authorities have this independent, peer-led provision. Please see a map of the LERO’s from the College of Lived Experience Recovery Organisations (CLERO).
Yes, there are organisations and/or groups of individuals with lived experience in Derbyshire supporting people in recovery.
It is a strategic aim of Derbyshire County Council’s Public Health Substance Use Team to formally support the development of LERO in Derbyshire as we see LERO’s as a fundamental part of the healthcare and recovery system in Derbyshire
CLERO is a national initiative founded in 2020 to unite and strengthen LEROs across the UK. It promotes a recovery model rooted in human rights, community connection, and co-production, aiming to build trust and credibility within the recovery sector. Activities are guided by Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC), with a focus on being people-centred, strengths-based, and inclusive. Each LERO within CLERO is shaped by the needs and aspirations of its local community, building on existing assets and lived experience.
As part of its commitment to learning and growth, CLERO hosts monthly masterclasses led by people with lived experience. These sessions offer practical tools, peer-led insights, and opportunities for reflection and skill-building. Each masterclass explores a different theme—such as wellbeing, advocacy, or storytelling—and provides a welcoming space for anyone interested in recovery, whether personally or professionally. Through these events, CLERO continues to foster a vibrant, supportive network where lived experience is central to shaping recovery pathways.
If you are interested in joining a future masterclass, please email lero.connectors@gmail.com for the link 🔗🔗
Still not sure? Check out the national standards: www.clero.co.uk/clero-standards. THE CLERO’s – LERO standards comprise of 33 statements divided into 4 sections, covering the following aspects of LEROs: culture and values, support offer, staff and volunteers, operations and management. Some of the statements apply to all LEROs, whereas others only apply to those who have a recognised formal organisational structure.