About Kwads

Kwads was launched by a group of mothers in South Bristol who felt there was gap in support services for families. They came to realise that carers had specialist needs and that those needs were entirely different to the needs of users.

Since 1994, the importance and central role of carers has been increasingly acknowledged. Academic research shows that there is a direct link between positive outcomes for individuals who are misusing drugs and/or alcohol and having other family members access their own support services. Kwads has worked closely with Dr Lorna Templeton, formerly of Bath University, over the last 10 years with our work and data being made available to support the research.

Latterly Kwads has undergone a profound change. A new, highly qualified, specialist team has been put in place under the guidance of a new CEO. We are committed to ensuring that Kwads meets the needs of the community, of individual carers, and of professionals. We collaborate with other drug and alcohol service providers across the wider Bristol area, ensuring that everyone has access to services they need and which suit them best.

We will continue to take an innovative approach to our work and to addressing our clients’ needs. To that end we actively supported the setting up of a specialist bereavement group, which one of our team facilitates. We consider this to be an important service since families who have lost a loved one through drug/alcohol misuse may not be getting the support they need from other bereavement services.