Resolve

“Small groups sometimes just need someone to have a bit of faith in them and that’s what we got from HCF.”
Joe Heeney, Resolve

Resolve is an adult drug and alcohol day service based in Welwyn Garden City. The service provides treatment, therapies, support and assistance to adults who have issues relating to alcohol or substance misuse.

All in all, Resolve helps people to recover and move forward with their lives, as Joe Heeney, CEO, explains.
“Ideally we’d like people to move on, to stabilise their lives, go back into employment, find interests. Sometimes people end up volunteering for us.”

He goes on to share Dean’s story. Dean was a client some years ago. After he completed his treatment he moved on for a couple of years, but then volunteered with Resolve and eventually trained as a counsellor. Joe proudly explains that “Dean now leads my team in Hatfield and he’s paid staff – and I can call him a friend as well.”

Resolve’s very first grant was £500 from Hertfordshire Community Foundation back in 2008 and they’ve continued to receive support across the following decade. This year they celebrate their tenth anniversary, and they’ve gone from strength to strength since those early days.

"Hertfordshire Community Foundation was very supportive in assisting us to get the funding we needed to grow from a small community voluntary group to a larger functioning service... When I called back a year after our start-up grant they were genuinely pleased to hear that we were still up and running and doing well. I felt encouraged because it was always ‘how can we help’. That was what somebody like me needed."

Another project Resolve is involved with is the Hatfield Night Shelter, which was headed up by Lynne Sparks, Mayor of Welwyn Hatfield who sadly passed away in 2018.

“It’s the culmination of two to three years of trying to find a solution to people sleeping rough. It’s something that Resolve was able to be involved in because we have the infrastructure, that legacy from our early investment from Hertfordshire Community Foundation”, says Joe.

“All we’re doing is passing on the goodwill that we’ve had given to us.”