This week, THOMAS took part in the ‘Ket what?’ Ketamine conference held at Blackburn Rovers football stadium, Ewood Park.

Elliot, Michael and Austin from our Promoting Recovery Engagement (PRE) team were joined by other organisations, parents, carers and families to discuss ketamine use in Lancashire, as well as its effects on individuals and the community.

One of our clients currently in residential rehabilitation also bravely spoke about his own lived experience at the conference, showing the importance of personal insight and collaboration in preventing harm and raising awareness of such issues.

The PRE team also run a weekly ketamine support group at St Johns Court, Blackburn, every Monday.

“The Ketamine Conference was both educational and deeply impactful, bringing together clinical insight, frontline experience, and powerful personal stories. From a doctors perspective, the analogy of Ketamine’s effect on the bladder-likened to a once-flexible reservoir becoming scarred and rigid-made the physical harms strikingly clear. A police officer offered a sobering view on the rise in teenagers running away from home, often linked to escalating Ketamine use, highlighting the wider social consequences. Particularly moving were the real texts message exchanges between two young people, whose raw words revealed the grip of the drug and their struggle to cope. These moments, alongside lived experience accounts, created space for genuine connection and reflection, leaving a lasting impression on the people in attendance.” from Austin, THOMAS.