IRC Development & Support

Stronger Communities CIC brings extensive experience in supporting areas to design and establish Inclusive Recovery Cities (IRCs). Drawing on years of lived experience leadership, organisational development, and community recovery work, the team helps local systems create the conditions where recovery can flourish. This means building strong partnerships, embedding peer-led approaches, and ensuring recovery is visible, valued, and accessible across diverse communities.

James Sadler, CEO of DATUS, Enabling Recovery, and part of the Stronger Communities leadership team, brings particular expertise from his role on the UK’s National IRC Council and Birmingham’s IRC, based in Birmingham Inclusive Recovery Hub (BIRCH). Jamie also is on the Board of the College of Lived Experience Recovery Organisations (CLERO). Mohammed Ashfaq MBE has led a Birmingham-based LERO (KIKIT, Pathways to Recovery) for almost 20 years. This organisation has supported BAME residents of Birmingham with a drug or alcohol problem access support and treatment. The organisation has developed effective pathways with faith-based organisations, such as mosques, developed faith-based and culturally appropriate programmes. Mohammed Ashfaq MBE has worked with government offices, such as The Home Office to work on projects addressing radicalisation, exploitation and stigma. James and Mohammed’s involvement at both national and city levels means they can share practical insights on how to build an IRC from the ground up — aligning local priorities with the national vision, establishing effective governance, and making recovery an integral part of wider health and community strategies.

The Stronger Communities CIC involved people with deep experience of setting up recovery hubs, strengthening Lived Experience Recovery Organisations (LEROs), and building inclusive partnerships with statutory, faith, and voluntary sector organisations. Together, they provide both the strategic know-how and the hands-on support needed to help new areas develop their own Inclusive Recovery City models — rooted in local strengths but connected to a wider national movement.