Making soap helps people in Leeds rebuild life in recovery

Making soap gives people recovering from addiction in Leeds a reason to meet, learn and contribute. At Getting Clean, practical workshops and community clean-ups bring people together with others who understand recovery first-hand.

A study published in October 2025 interviewed 15 members. They described gaining confidence, friendships and a sense of belonging. One participant, who initially asked to work in the storeroom, told researchers: “I’ll speak to anyone now!”

That is encouraging evidence of people’s experiences, not proof that the programme prevents relapse. Researchers interviewed current attendees at one organisation and collected no objective abstinence data; people who had stopped attending were not included.

Getting Clean’s current impact page reports 200 soap-making workshops and paid employment for five people in recovery. Those are the organisation’s own figures, without a stated reporting period.

The practical lesson is about rebuilding daily life: useful work and shared activities create opportunities to reconnect. For the members interviewed, recovery included feeling valued, learning skills and finding people they could talk to.

Sources

• Humphreys and Finch — Experiences of a lived experience recovery organisation
• Getting Clean — Impact