The Nelson Trust

The Nelson Trust was founded in 1985 near Stroud in Gloucestershire by Roy and Mary Brash.  The charity began life as a supportive shared residence for people recovering from alcohol addiction, and over a period of a few short years it developed into a residential treatment centre providing a comprehensive programme of care and support for people looking for recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.

The programme brought together a staff team with a range of specialist therapeutic skills and they developed services which could support people with complex needs including trauma, mental health problems, criminal justice issues and family problems.

Over time, with the generous support of donors and grant-giving trusts, we have developed residential treatment as part of an integrated service with education and training, family work and supported resettlement housing.  We have a total of nine residential houses together with a treatment centre, education centre and our administration centre in the Stroud area.  The treatment centre is a former school house a short walk from the residential accommodation in the beautiful rural setting of the Cotswolds.

Within the last decade we have developed a specialist residential service for women who have experienced trauma or abuse which is closely associated with substance dependency: women can now undertake a residential programme in safe, supportive and trauma-informed setting with an all-female staff team.