An addiction rehabilitation charity has won a national award and £10,000 for its record in turning people’s lives around.

The Living Room was founded by Janis Feely MBE at The Glebe on Chells Way in Stevenage in May 2000, after she successfully overcame her own addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs.

The charity, which also has a centre in St Albans, supports people with addictions to anything from alcohol and drugs to gambling and sex.

On Tuesday, The Living Room received the Centre for Social Justice’s Social Resilience Award for beating the national success rates for addiction recovery on every score.

According to an independent evaluation, almost twice the number of people addicted to opioids such as morphine and heroin treated by The Living Room recovered than the national average, and two thirds of those who attend treatment achieve long-term recovery from their addiction.

The Living Room’s success rate for alcohol addiction is 55 per cent, compared to a national average of 33 per cent, and 60 per cent of people with an eating disorder recover, compared to a national average of 45 per cent.

The charity champions abstinence-based treatment delivered by counsellors with experience of overcoming addictions themselves.

Andy Cook – chief executive of the CSJ, which works to tackle poverty – said: “The Living Room has a record of breaking the cycle of addiction and transforming lives. Even those who had abandoned all hope of turning their lives around succeeded in doing just that thanks to the charity’s focused, effective treatment.

“One of the reasons for The Living Room’s success is their ability to engage with the addict’s family and to strengthen relationships that can be crucial to recovery.

“The Living Room is led by a hard-working, focused and accountable team with a good understanding of what they want to achieve.”

Adrienne Arthurs, chief executive of The Living Room, said: “We are so proud of the recognition of the outstanding achievements the charity has made.

“I look to the future with hope, gratitude and a belief that we will support more people to have healthy, meaningful lives, becoming contributing citizens in our society.”