Community Venue on Grimsby Docks

With work driven by Creative Start and our recovery community and supported by the Police Commissioners Office, MyEnergi and Phillips 66 amongst others, we have recently converted the largest ground floor area at our Great Escape building on Grimsby Docks into North East Lincolnshire’s first and only recovery cafe and community venue.

We are extremely proud of the work that has been achieved. It is a truly unique space blending heritage, community art and quirky design.

The Blackgull Community Venue provides a space for drinks, snacks and socialising for the wider community, it is open to the public, has full disabled access (including fully accessible toilet), and has been welcoming a steadily growing number of local visitors.

It also hosts a small community library as well as a board games library for those that want to stay awhile.

Black Gull is now the main hub of the Great Escape building and is hosting an increasing number of community projects and local groups.

We're currently only open between 10am and 3pm Mon to Fri. We are looking to have our official opening in October 2023 when we will be looking to expand our opening hours to evenings and weekends.
 

What do we do?

Over the coming months, we are looking to offer a simple and affordable menu from our community kitchen (coming soon), fresh ground coffee, comfort and ease as an added extra.

Visitors are free to hang -out and chat, use our Wi-Fi and we'll be operating a ‘pay it forward’ scheme for those who find themselves either starved of company or in need of something to drink.

No one has to leave because they are broke or feel broken.

Activities and Events

We're organising a number of regular events in the main cafe space, alongside creative activities, signposting local services and providing peer-support based volunteering opportunities.

Above the community space we have a variety of rooms for activities and groups. These rooms can be hired for presentations, meetings and hot-desking. We have a digital studio on site for printing and design support and a small cyber cafe in the main cafe space.

As always, we are open to other ideas!

Why don't we serve alcohol?

The cost of addiction is high for individuals, their families and society in general. The people we support have complex interlinked needs and many have a range of addictions from alcohol and drugs, to sex, gambling or food. 

Members can often be stuck in a cycle of addiction, treatment and then falling back into addiction. This happens when they are unsupported in their recovery and feel they don’t have a positive future to look forward to. Many others in recovery struggle with social anxiety. Socialising in establishments where alcohol is served can act as a trigger.

This means there are little or no places where people in recovery can socialise safely.

At Creative Start we firmly believe that being involved in creativity as opposed to the destructive behaviours of our past is beneficial to recovery and wellbeing.

To this end, we run or host; peer support groups, art workshops and hold exhibitions. We are looking to have an open mic night regularly and are planning more social evenings such as gaming nights, movie nights and karaoke.

Alongside our public offerings, the 'Blackgull Community space' is a non stigmatised, alcohol free environment, which can be open during daytimes and evenings without any pressure on people to drink or be scrutinised for not drinking.

Black Gull provides a community and social space for a visible, very accessible point of contact for many people first looking for recovery.

It's a safe, welcoming space for anyone in recovery.

Run by, and for, people with experience of active recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, our aims are to provide a supportive peer-led space, informal access to information, as well as a range of other community courses, workshops & social activities.

Black Gull exists to provide a safe space for people to share their experience of recovery from substance misuse: to socialise in, build new social networks and find support from others in recovery. It includes family members, carers and supporters as part of a recovery community.

By opening our doors to the public, we're providing local people with an alternative safe space and somewhere to socialise without alcohol. This helps raise awareness of our work, breaks down stigma and builds connections between those in recovery and the wider community.

Whatever route an individual chooses to take, it is valid and respected.

@blackgull.community on Instagram

Volunteering

Without volunteers, Black Gull would not exist. We provide volunteering opportunities in the coffee shop and with our recovery team.

This role comes with access to training that includes: food hygiene, barista training, training around substance misuse and more.

Or why not simply come along and join in with our creative groups.

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