I started using substances at 14, as much and as often as possible as I could and get away with it. From the age of 17 I used one thing or another on a daily basis, 22 onwards I had found the remedy to all my problems – heroin LOL.

Long before the drugs even became an issue for me I remember being a very fearful and insecure kid. I never had any friends, I believed that somehow I wasn’t enough, that others would find me lacking and if they knew the true me would abandon and reject me. It sounds horrendous to me today but it’s true. To deal with this I learnt to wear masks, to be a chameleon. I learnt to manipulate how those around me perceived me. Alongside the coping strategies I was very selfish and entitled and from a young age I stole and lied to get what I wanted. I was massively entitled and somehow thought I was different and better than everyone else. To say the least, I was very confused and conflicted.

The drugs were the solution to all of this internal strife. When I stumbled across heroin I was like wow!!! I felt warm, secure and didn’t really worry what others thought of me, and you know I wasn’t like all those other “smackheads”, I wouldn’t sell all my possessions, I wouldn’t inject – I’ve got this LOL!!! Within a very short period of time I was injecting. I was homeless. I was shoplifting. I got my food from a soup bus every night. My parents out of necessity for their own wellbeing and security had distanced themselves from me. This was the start of a long and truly winding road.


Roll the tape forward 2 decades and there I was waking up in Jericho for the first time. I had tried everything to stop using drugs. I had had enough by 26 and even with a sincere desire to stop using I had been unable to do so. I had tried “cold turkeys’”. I had tried drug services. I had tried counselling. I had tried religion. I had tried working and manageably using. I had tried relationships; I had tried moving. Nothing had worked for me. At 32 I admitted defeat and gave up, not only on giving up, but on life itself. I had become resigned to what I thought was to be my fate. The next 9 years involved me selling the “Big Issue”, scoring, getting as many drugs down me as possible (as long as I had my smack and diazepam), using dirty pins, living in squalor, avoiding my family (as I always had to deny I was still on drugs). A truly miserable existence!!!!

Then through a series of seemingly disconnected events and persons coming into my life I found myself in Jericho. As I have said I didn’t really want to be there, however in my first week there this had already started to change. I cannot explain how my obsession and compulsion went away just as I can’t explain why in that first week I decided I was going to give it a go.

Jericho took me in, they gave me the space to firstly stop using and more importantly stay stopped. They then gently and carefully helped to dispel the narrative I had told myself my whole life and had which and kept me using. Jericho House is an expert in helping others with addiction issues, it doesn’t matter what your drug of choice is. They provide an environment that is loving, supportive and always encouraging. They introduced me to the NA programme but more than that they showed me the happiness that can be derived from simple pleasures; connection with others, learning to be kind to yourself and others, being trusted and valued, having purpose and direction, setting and realising achievable goals, being responsible and accountable etc etc etc (the list goes on – LOL).

Today I am fast approaching 6 years – wow and this from a guy who had given up! I am in my final year of a degree in Mental Health Nursing, I am a trusted and valued member of my family, I have friends who truly care for me and I for them, I have a rich social life and interests, I no longer live a life dictated by my fears and insecurities. I appreciate my life and all that it consists of which motivates me to maintain and build upon all I have achieved so far. None of this would have been possible without the influence of Jericho House. Everything I was looking for in drugs I found in Jericho. If you, or someone you know, is struggling with addiction please contact Jericho House. It may be the first step towards a whole new life.