Turning lives around since 1964

Adam Hewitt • Published 18 Feb 2010 12:00 0 Comments

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A BUSINESS quietly turning lives around has won praise from top Tories.

Turning Point in Reading's Church Street helped 50 former drug addicts and alcoholics get back into work last year.

The not-for-profit business works with JobCentre Plus to support those with substance misuse problems, to get them away from a life of crime and benefits dependency.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Theresa May, MP for Maidenhead, met staff and people who have benefited from the service on Tuesday.

She said: "It's a very good organisation doing very valuable work. It shows the importance of Government working with the private and third sector [not-for-profit], organisations who can give really specialised and personalised help. Ex-addicts or alcoholics or people with mental health issues can have particular barriers to getting work. But helping them is good for the economy, it turns their lives around and saves taxpayer's money."

The business has been going since 1964 and now works in 250 areas.

Its chief executive since 2001, Lord Victor Adebowale, said: "We save taxpayers' money. It's a net contribution - there are people who might think 'why are we spending money on these people', but the fact is that getting them into work is a major contribution. It means they're paying taxes, not drawing benefits, not being a drain on the health service, not committing crimes."

Reading East MP Rob Wilson joined Mrs May and said: "They're having incredible success as a social enterprise in turning around quite a lot of lives."

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