Coventry · Est. 2005

Recovery is hard.
You don't have to do it alone.

For over twenty years, Open Hands Coventry has provided stable, sober accommodation for men recovering from alcohol and drug addiction, offering not just a place to stay, but a place to belong.

We are not a clinic or a short-term programme. We are a registered Coventry charity and a long-standing recovery community where men live alongside others who understand addiction firsthand because they have lived it themselves.

Get in touch Refer someone

We are a small charity. We answer our own phone.

Storm, the OHC dog

Storm lives here too.

20+
Years running in Coventry
How it works

Plain and simple

There is no complicated process. If you want to stop using and you are willing to put the work in, that is enough to start a conversation.

Step 1

Get in touch

Call or email us. You will speak to someone who has been through it themselves.

Step 2

Come and see

Visit the house. Meet the people. Ask what you need to ask. No obligation, no pressure.

Step 3

Move in, get to work

Structured supported housing for up to two years. A step-based recovery programme, peer support, and people around you who understand.

"One alcoholic helping another. That is what works. That is what this place is built on."

THE HELPER PRINCIPLE · THE FOUNDATION OF OPEN HANDS COVENTRY

When a resident is ready to move on, they keep their key. The door stays open.

"I came to OHC with little hope of sobriety. A few years have passed, and I am now living an independent life free of alcohol and drugs, and studying for a degree."

NICK A.

What we offer

Supported housing, not just a roof

The support is built into the community around you — from people who know what they are talking about because they have lived it. Addiction takes away dignity and self-belief. A big part of what we do is helping people rebuild both.

Peer support

Residents support each other. That is not a nice extra — it is the whole model.

A structured approach to recovery

We use a structured approach to recovery that has helped millions of people worldwide get and stay sober.

Structure and stability

A place to rebuild routine. A stable place with consistent staff who know you by name.

Internet access and digital skills

We provide internet access so you can develop digital skills, access online meetings and courses, and stay connected.

Second stage housing

Residents who complete the programme can move on to longer-term second stage supported accommodation.

Support with the practical stuff

We will support and advocate on your behalf with the things that can get in the way: benefits, family, debt, and housing.

"Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life."

J.K. ROWLING

Open Hands Coventry has never claimed to fix people. What it offers is a safe place to stop — and, for those who are ready, a structure to begin again. The work of recovery belongs to the person doing it. OHC provides the conditions.

Over the years many men have moved on to rebuild their lives — careers, families, purpose. Others have found a quieter stability: a home, sobriety, a measure of peace. Both matter. OHC does not rank outcomes. It holds the door open.

If you are reading this, something has already changed.

Maybe you are exhausted. Maybe you have tried before. Maybe someone who loves you guided you to this site, or maybe you found it entirely on your own. However you got here, that took something.

We know what it is like to sit where you are right now. Every person here has been there. What we found, and what we want to share with you, is that it does not have to stay this way.

There is a place for you here.

We welcome people of all beliefs and none. Whether faith is central to your life or plays no part in it, that does not matter here. What matters is that you are willing to try.

Recovery does not depend solely on willpower. It grows through connection, through being honest with people who understand, and through shared experience with others who have been where you are. Many of the men who live and recover at Open Hands Coventry arrived feeling that they had run out of options. What they found was that they had not. They found a structure, a community, and a way forward.

Ready to talk?

Whether it is for yourself, a family member, or someone you work with — call us. If we can help, we will. If we cannot, we will tell you who can.

Phone02476 630621
Mobile07834 281151
Emailadmin@openhands.charity
LocationCoventry, West Midlands
Send us a message
How it works

No mystery.
No red tape.

We are not a treatment centre, a detox, or a waiting list. We are a place to live and recover — with people around you who know what that means.

The process

From first call to moving in

Three steps. No jargon. If you are ready to be honest, we are ready to talk.

Step 1

Get in touch

Call or email. You will speak to a real person. We will have a straightforward conversation about where you are and what you are looking for. Nothing is committed at this stage.

Step 2

Come and see

Visit the house. Meet some of the residents and staff. Get a feel for how it works. You can ask anything — including the hard questions. No obligation.

Step 3

Move in

If it feels right for you and there is a place available, we will get you in. From that point on you are part of the community — and the community is part of your recovery.

Who this is for

We are not for everyone. Here is who we can help.

OHC works for men who are genuinely ready to stop using. Many residents have tried before and relapsed. That is not a barrier — it is part of the picture we understand.

Some men go on to rebuild careers and reconnect with their families. Others need time and stability to find their footing again. What they share is a need for a safe, sober, structured place to live.

  • Men aged 18+ with alcohol or drug dependency
  • Willing to engage with a structured, step-based recovery programme
  • Ready to live in a shared, structured house
  • Committed to supporting other residents as well as themselves

Not sure if OHC is right? Call us anyway. We will be honest with you.

"The first step is just making the call. Everything else comes after that."

OPEN HANDS COVENTRY

"I found sobriety and freedom via OHC and am now running my own small general gardening company."

JAMES D.

"If you can quit for a day, you can quit for a lifetime."

BENJAMIN ALIRE SÁENZ

Take the first step.

A phone call costs nothing. If now is not the right time, we will still point you in the right direction.

Phone02476 630621
Mobile07834 281151
Emailadmin@openhands.charity
Get in touch
Who we are

Twenty years.
One simple idea.

Open Hands Coventry has been running since 2005. We have never received external support funding. The model works because it is built on something real.

OHC is a registered peer-led recovery charity based in Coventry. We have been providing supported housing for men in recovery for over 20 years.

Support at Open Hands is built on shared experience, daily structure, and mutual responsibility. Residents are not managed from a distance or treated as case numbers. They become part of a community where the man offering support today may once have arrived here needing the same help himself.

The thing that makes OHC different is not a programme or a method. It is the Helper Principle: one alcoholic or addict helping another. That is not a tagline. It is the actual structure of how the house works. Residents support each other. That peer support — resident to resident — is logged, recognised, and treated as the serious part of recovery that it is.

Stopping drinking or using is the easy part. Staying stopped is what is hard. The issues people were drinking or using to avoid do not go away — they need to be faced, in sober clarity, often for the first time. Addiction also takes away dignity and self-belief. Rebuilding both takes time, and the right environment.

We are a small charity with thirty-plus men in our care, with a small core of staff supplemented by volunteers who have been with us for some years. That is not a limitation — it is the point. Recovery happens in relationships, not in systems.

Registered charity

Open Hands Coventry is a registered charity. Charity No. 1115626.

A structured approach to recovery

We use a structured approach to recovery that has helped millions of people worldwide get and stay sober.

The front of Open Hands Coventry The garden at Open Hands Coventry

"I joined OHC a few years ago with a drinking problem and subsequent health issues. I'm now clean and sober, and living an independent and dignified life."

PETER B.

"What progress have I made? I have begun to be a friend to myself."

HECATO

Outcomes

What happens over time

Recovery takes time. We provide the stability for it to happen.

Sustained sobriety

Many residents achieve long-term sobriety — not just in the short term, but sustained over years.

Reduced crisis and relapse

A stable environment with consistent support significantly reduces the cycle of crisis and relapse.

Independent living

Residents rebuild the skills and confidence to move on and live independently.

Fewer returns to homelessness

Residents typically stay long enough for real change to take place — and leave with somewhere to go.

Want to know more?

Whether you are a potential resident, a professional referrer, or just curious — we are happy to talk.

Get in touch
Refer someone

Making a referral
is straightforward.

For professionals, family members, or anyone supporting a man who might benefit from OHC. Fill in the form below or call us directly.

For professionals

We accept referrals from housing, probation, recovery, and health services.

OHC is suitable for men who need structure rather than clinical treatment — men who are motivated to live sober and can manage in shared accommodation. We are not an inpatient detox and cannot accommodate behaviour that would destabilise the house.

Before you refer

Is OHC right for this person?

OHC works well for men who meet the following criteria:

  • Male, aged 18 or over
  • Affected by alcohol or drug dependency
  • Willing to engage with a structured, step-based recovery programme
  • Ready to live in a shared house with other men in recovery
  • Able and willing to support fellow residents as part of their own recovery
  • Able to manage day-to-day life in a communal setting without one-to-one clinical support
  • Not subject to restrictions that would make communal living unsafe or unworkable

OHC is unlikely to be suitable where a person has active and serious mental health needs requiring clinical oversight, a history of violence or behaviour that would place other residents at risk, or requires a level of individual care that a communal peer-led setting cannot safely provide.

All residents are expected to keep their room and shared spaces clean, contribute to the running of the house, attend house meetings, and remain abstinent. These are not optional — they are the foundation of how OHC works.

Not sure? Call us. We would rather have an honest conversation than a rejected referral.

Professional referral overview

A one-page summary of OHC, suitability criteria, and the referral process — for hospital discharge, probation, and recovery workers.

Download PDF
Referral form

About the person you are referring

We will come back to you within one working day. If it is urgent, call us directly.

Contact

Get in touch.
We will be straight with you.

Whether it is for yourself, someone you know, or a professional enquiry — call or email. We will have an honest conversation.

We are a small charity. There is no switchboard, no holding queue. You will reach a real person.

Phone 02476 630621
Mobile 07834 281151
Email admin@openhands.charity
Address 16 Stoney Road, Cheylesmore, Coventry, CV1 2NP
Registered charity No. 1115626

If you are in crisis right now and need urgent help, please call Samaritans on 116 123 (free, 24/7) or go to your nearest A&E.

Send a message

We aim to respond within one working day.