The early death of Amy Winehouse saw the loss of one of the most interesting and unique voices within the music industry at the time. The talented artist’s life was cut short in 2011 when she passed away due to alcohol poisoning. The Amy Winehouse Foundation was subsequently established by Winehouse’s family to help spread awareness of the impact of drug and alcohol addiction and to help disadvantaged youth see all the wonderful things they are capable of.
On August 22nd, the Foundation will open a home for women struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. The home, called ‘Amy’s Place’, will be a safe place for women to work through their addiction problems and any “physical, mental and psychological” issues they are also dealing with, as the Amy Winehouse Foundation’s special project director Dominic Ruffy told The Guardian.
“There are about six women-only rehabs, and beyond that, there’s an even greater paucity of women-specific recovery housing beds. There is only one other women-only recovery house in London and it’s only a four-bed with a six-month waiting list,” he said.
The home allows residents to engage in a number of activities, including yoga classes and employability based workshops. Ruffy explains the way in which this is different to an every day rehab centre in terms of the help and support they provide to recovering addicts.
“Picture a person who is 14 years old, has come from a broken home, hasn’t engaged at school, ends on a path of addiction and winds up at 25-26 years old going to rehab, learning how to get clean, and then leaving rehab and being told to get on with it. It can be as simple as not knowing how to go about getting your benefits or engaging in college,” he said.
Jane Winehouse, Amy’s stepmother and Managing Trustee at the Foundation, agreed that the home will make a difference in the lives of many women, providing them with the safety and support they need to get their lives back on track.“Fresh starts are difficult to make, full of challenges, but at Amy’s Place, we will give young women the tools and support to help make this a reality,” she said.
Amy’s Place will open in East London on August 22nd.
Image: Billboard