Regional lawyers have set the stage for an acclaimed arts charity to help more people recover from drugs and alcohol addiction problems.
Ellis Jones Solicitors has backed Bournemouth-based Vita Nova with £1,000 funding to transform lives through activities such as creative writing, drama, music and textiles work.
The arts organisation holds workshops, has its own theatre space, gives performances in treatment centres and visits schools and colleges to raise awareness among young people about the dangers of drugs and alcohol misuse.
Funding from Ellis Jones – with more than 150 staff and 18 Partners – will go towards new comfortable, collapsible chairs for the charity’s theatre as well as a sewing machine and iron for its growing textile groups.
The law firm’s donation will also enable Vita Nova’s creative writing group to publish a poetry book with support from poet and visual artist Paul Hawkins.
Paul Dyer, Consultant Solicitor at Ellis Jones, said: “Vita Nova has transformed hundreds of lives and reached countless young people.
“With its focus on mental health and wellbeing, Ellis Jones is pleased to be able to help the charity support even more people at a time when they need its help the most.”
Vita Nova artistic director Sharon (Muiruri) Coyne said: “Our gratitude goes to Ellis Jones for its support, which will allow us to further our work in ways which we may not have been able to otherwise afford.
“We are in a critical situation when the support for those in recovery has been cut. When people leave treatment for their addiction, they are often vulnerable.
“Vita Nova offers through its creative work a stepping stone back into the community. It gives participants time to rebuild their confidence within a safe and caring environment.”
Vita Nova is based in Boscombe, Bournemouth, and was formed in 1999.
Ellis Jones has five offices across the south coast in Bournemouth, Canford Cliffs (Poole), Ringwood, Swanage and Wimborne as well as London.