The Matthew Project

Who we are

For 35 years, the Matthew Project has been supporting vulnerable adults and young people in the East of England. Our work focuses on reducing drug and/or alcohol misuse with young people under 18, providing support for both young people and adults in recovery, and improving individuals’ mental wellbeing. Over this time, we have built up a reputation for delivering high quality, effective services, focusing on both prevention and treatment. We believe that every person, no matter their age or background, deserves the chance to improve their physical and mental wellbeing.

Our work benefits a wide range of people from a wide range of different backgrounds. We help these beneficiaries to achieve better physical and mental health, better relationships with others, and overall better quality of life, along with access to more opportunities. As well as the individuals themselves, our work also creates social change and improvements to the local community in a range of different ways. These include improved family relationships and friendships, reductions in drug/alcohol misuse, reduced strain on local health and wellbeing services, reductions in rates of offending, and improved skills and employment outcomes for our service users, all of which help to regenerate the local community.

We started off in 1984 as a small local charity with a vision to support disadvantaged people across Norfolk. Soon after, we began offering one-to-one outreach support across the county, and this remains a key part of our role today – ensuring that those who are unable to travel and access services can be supported in their own homes and communities.

Since those early days, we’ve grown into a leading local charity, working with thousands of people across Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex every year.