About DAFS
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Passionate About Helping Others
DAFS was founded by Val & Lynn, after experiencing frustration with the lack of support for families during a time when they needed it. They realised that they could not be the only individuals out there not knowing where to go or who to turn to during the turbulent times of dealing with a loved one in addiction.
Feeling like they owed it to other struggling families experiencing similar struggles, they took on the task of creating & forming their own small support group in 2018, which over the years has gradually grown to be a well established & well known not-for-profit organisation dedicated to helping others in the same situations.
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Our Team
Meet our Team...& what a team we have! Our entire team are passionate about what we do, are all volunteers & do such an amazing job at ensuring DAFS & it's beneficiaries are supported appropriately.
Valerie
DAFS Co-Founder & CEO
Wendy
DAFS Trustee & Group
Facilitator
Lynn
DAFS Co-Founder & GDO
Janet
DAFS Trustee
Wendy
DAFS Trustee (Chair) & Group Facilitator
Jacqui
DAFS Trustee
Gail
DAFS Trustee/Group Facilitator
Aine
DAFS Volunteer/Group
Facilitator
Gill
DAFS Volunteer
Bev
DAFS Volunteer
Carole
DAFS Volunteer/First Response
DAFNEE
DAFS Mascot
Tracy F
DAFS Volunteer/Group
Facilitator Support
Bailea
DAFS Volunteer
David
DAFS Volunteer
VACANCY
DAFS Volunteer/Trustee
Simon
DAFS Trustee
Tracie
DAFS Volunteer/Group
Facilitator Support
Oskar
DAFS Volunteer
Laura
DAFS Volunteer
VACANCY
DAFS Volunteer/Trustee
VACANCY
DAFS Volunteer/Trustee
David
DAFS Volunteer
Laura
DAFS Volunteer
Simon
DAFS Trustee
Meet our Patrons
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Jane Carr has been with us since the start of the DAFS journey. She gave us our first £200 donation & has continued to offer us practical & emotional support . Jane kindly agreed to become our first Patron in April 2024.
She is a qualified social worker, working as an expert witness mainly with children & their families in Court Proceedings. Her work has brought her into contact with many families facing drug & alcohol addiction, so she has a perfect synergy with DAFS.
Jane is also a City Councillor so helps guide us through policy & practice, which has been a huge help with understanding things both local and nationally.
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David Best joined DAFS as a Patron in April 2024.
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Dr. Best is Professor & Director of the Centre for Addiction Recovery Research (CARR) at Leeds Trinity University, Honorary Professor of Regulation & Global Governance at The Australian National University, Adjunct Associate Professor of Addiction Science at Monash University (Melbourne) & Affiliate Senior Scientist at the Public Health Institute in California. He is also a founding member of the College of Lived Experience Recovery Organisations in the UK & of the Inclusive Recovery Cities movement where he is chair of Inclusive Recovery Cities UK.
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Trained as a psychologist & criminologist, he has worked in practice, research & policy in the areas of addiction recovery & rehabilitation of offenders. He has authored or co-edited eight books on addiction recovery & desistance from offending, & has written more than 250 peer-reviewed journal publications & around 70 book chapters & technical reports. As of December 2024, he has an h-index of 44 & a total of 7005 citations of his academic work. He is one of the leading academics in the area of addiction recovery & a key innovator in developing recovery capital measurement tools & methods.
In April 2025 “The Handbook of Recovery Capital” was published by Bristol University Press (edited by David Best & Emily Hennessy) which summarises the existing & emerging evidence around the concept of recovery capital.