Kenward Trust
Kenward Will Change Lives - Will's Story

Kenward Trust

Founded in 1968, Kenward Trust is a charity based in Kent that saves lives every day from alcohol and drugs, homelessness and crime. We help people to transform their lives and create a new future away from their addictions. Our work spans from sessions in schools delivering early education and interventions, through to residential rehab and providing a home for residents to settle back into the community to continue their journey of recovery.

Think Differently is our highly successful project which visits schools and tailors days to educate young people, highlighting substance misuse and anti-social behaviour. The programme focuses on real life stories and experiences from individuals with previous substance addictions, ex-prisoners and sometimes current prison volunteers. Through this programme, we raise awareness of the issues and potential consequences of drug and alcohol dependency to young people. The stories shared in sessions focus on thoughts, feelings, behaviours and underlying issues, and reveal how the choices they make can have an effect in their life, family and community.

This video explains the tragic death of Will, Kim Webster's son who tragically died July 2018 from experimental drug misuse one night. Kim is our Youth Executive who helps to deliver the Intervention talks in schools around Kent. What happened to Will, is every parent’s worst nightmare. He had a bright future ahead of him in the Army, he had just successfully completed his army assessment and was ready to start his lifelong dream.

One night he went out with a friend and after a few drinks they were offered Tramadol as a recreational high. His friend survived but tragically Will had a reaction and died. This goes to show that drug experimentation can be literally like the flip of a coin, heads you’re ok, tails you are not.