A central London church is making its new hall available for drugs and alcohol users in need of support and care.
The hall at St Thomas' Church, in Kensal Town, was blessed by the Bishop of London on Sunday.
It will serve drugs and alcohol users, their families and carers living in the Kensington and Chelsea area.
The blessing marked the end of a substantial refurbishment project conducted by the Blenheim Community Drugs Project (Blenheim CDP), which works with Father Michael Miller of St Thomas' Church.
The renovation took three years and cost £740,000. Formerly used for yoga, the hall will now help to reduce the risks, harms and problems associated with drug and alcohol use.
Fr Michael said of the blessing: "This event was an opportunity to mark the end of a substantial piece of work which will provide real help for people in the local community."
Brendan McGrath, Area Manager at Blenheim CDP said: "It was noteworthy that so many of our objectives in relation to the work we deliver correlated with the aims of the church.
"We felt our ethical and moral compasses aligned and that a positive, collaborative partnership would be fruitful, which indeed has proven to be the case.
"Though in some respects it has been a long road to completion, Father Michael was always a positive driving force and a pleasure to work with in making this happen for the benefit of the entire community."
