Foundation for Change was co-founded in 2014 by Bob Bharij and Liz Naylor after ten years working in the mainstream drug and alcohol sector. During that time, they witnessed both excellent work and deep flaws in the system — a culture that too often reinforced inequality and shame instead of restoring dignity and agency.

For many people successfully leaving treatment, recovery meant abstinence but not purpose. They had reached a kind of cliff edge — sober, but stuck — without a sense of what could move them forward or give their lives meaning. They had achieved abstinence from substances but remained unclear about the root causes of their substance use, and often simply didn’t know who they were without them. Many others found themselves in a revolving door of relapse and treatment, each return amplifying feelings of personal failure and shame.

Those ten years became the incubator for what would evolve into the Foundation for Change Approach — a methodology rooted in education rather than intervention. Both founders had experienced first-hand the transformative impact of learning in their own lives and recognised its potential to empower others who had been marginalised or “othered”. They saw that knowledge, when shared and understood, could rebalance power, helping people move from dependency to self-direction.

At its heart lies a simple belief: knowledge is power — not in the abstract, but as a practical, human force that enables people to make meaning of their experiences, rebuild identity, and reconnect with community. Participants learn to look backwards to understand their past, so they can move forwards with clarity, strength, and purpose.

---

Trace Liz and Bob's journey and the circumstances that led towards setting up Foundation for Change below.