AN EVER-EXPANDING addiction hub in the heart of Blackbird Leys has been given a confidence boost after staff gave it the thumbs-up.

The MYOX4 centre in Knights Road offers a 12-step recovery course as well as group support sessions, sports initiatives and more to people with drug and alcohol issues.

Following an extensive visit the charity, which has three full-time staff and 10 volunteers, received a rare bronze accreditation from auditor Investors in People.

Manager DeeDee Wallace said: "It's quite a rigorous process looking at everything but also interviewing staff in a confidential environment.

"They thought what we were doing in Oxford was quite inventive. We are really, really pleased and proud that we have achieved this."

Practitioners visited the hub in September shortly after its third 'graduation', in which seven people from Oxfordshire celebrated getting clean over 14 weeks.

The charity was awarded the bronze rating last week, which means it is considered an above-average employer and an 'outperforming' place to work.

Miss Wallace said: "It's also a sign of a clear commitment to sustainability. We are here to stay in Blackbird Leys."

Six people have joined a fresh abstinence-based recovery course this week and MYOX4, run by national charity Lifeline Project, is also running more 'preventative' wellbeing and sport sessions in the Leys.

A helpline for members of the Polish community with questions on addiction, health or general wellbeing is also starting from Monday, with a Polish-speaking volunteer from the Blackbird Leys-based Oxford Polish Association on hand from 7pm to 8pm.

Several staff and volunteers at MYOX4, including facilitator Dave Eaton and support worker, Sean Qualter, faced down addictions themselves in the past.

One of last month's graduates, a 54-year-old from Headington, is about to start work as a volunteer after getting clean for six months.

The man, who was an alcoholic for 35 years and also addicted to crack and heroin, said: "I went in there and was loved and cared for, and it saved my life.

"When you have been living on the streets, scoring every day and living that lifestyle, to go somewhere and feel comfortable enough to open up is difficult.

"The staff they have got there are second to none. It's about giving back for me now to thank someone that's changed my life."