In this episode, Helen, Vicky and Hannah, spoke to Jenny Molloy, bestselling author, motivational speaker and care leaver about their experiences of children's services as mothers using, and in recovery from, drugs and alcohol. They share what did and didn't help them, and what they would like social workers to understans.

The conversation was recorded on location at Jasmine Mother's Recovery Centre, part of Trevi, the charity that supports women and children.

Find out more about the centre and Trevi's work here: https://trevi.org.uk/services/jasmine-mothers-recovery/

Some of the women touch on the fact that many women who have experienced trauma and drug and acohol addiction have been in abusive relationships. We recorded a separate episode about mothers experiences of social work connected to domestic abuse. You'll find the episode in the podcast feed.

Full transcripts of both episodes and supporting materials are available to Community Care Inform subscribers at ccinform.co.uk.

Content warnings. While these are stories with positive outcomes, there are brief mentions of attempted suicide, domestic abuse, difficult childbirth, and women also speak about their older children being removed.

We’d encourage you to use supervision and peer support if this episode brings up anything difficult for you, and generally to look after yourself while listening.