Amy Winehouse charity sets up rehab house for recovering female addicts

The centre is opening five years after the Back to Black singer died

Centra Care and Support, part of not-for-profit organisation Circle Housing, will help with the running of Amy’s Place (EPA)

The Amy Winehouse Foundation is to open a home for women recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.

Based in East London, Amy’s House will help young women who have dealt with addiction reintegrate into society. It will house 16 women aged 18 to 30.

Winehouse was found dead at her home in Camden Town in north London at the age of 27 just over five years ago. Her sudden death was the result of alcohol poisoning.

The foundation, which works to support young people coping with drug and alcohol misuse, was set up by her family in September 2011.

Dominic Ruffy, special project director at the Amy Winehouse Foundation, told The Guardian it had decided to set up the recovery house because there was a serious dearth of specialist addiction services catering for women in the UK. He said despite the fact research demonstrates women have a far higher chance of relapsing without this kind of support, Britain lacks female-only, female-orientated support.

“There are about six women-only rehabs, and beyond that, there’s an even greater paucity of women-specific recovery housing beds,” he said. “There is only one other women-only recovery house in London and it’s only a four-bed with a six-month waiting list.”

The recovery house has been set up with the help of Centra Care and Support which is part of not-for-profit organisation Circle Housing. It is due to open on 22 August.