Tony's Story

“I have been clean for four years and two months after a lifetime of drugs and crime. If I can do this great thing, many others can too.”

This is a summary of my recovery, which began four years ago in hospital with drug related problems. I went into rehab for seven months and then to supported housing, which was a good place but totally unsuitable for me. I was desperately unwell and had no idea what to do next through fear of relapse. Then someone told me about WDP.

I went for an assessment and met the person who became my key worker. I was able to talk to her about some very disturbing issues which were almost certainly going to drag me back down again unless I could find help. I didn’t know at the time but I was suffering from Post Traumatic Syndrome Disorder due to being brutally abused and tortured for years in a prison abroad.

I had also just found out that my blind son was being abused at his school, hence prompting my desire for recovery in the first place.

My key worker was very good, she listened to everything and helped me find the housing, legal and medical help I needed. WDP changed my life by making it possible for me to change my own life. One of the greatest things about WDP is that it is not just a key worker but a whole team because that is what it is: it’s a whole team of Experience and Knowledge. It just gives one so much confidence as much as the support and understanding. Any amount of DETOX or Rehab is nothing without a programme to support the person to change. I enrolled as a student through their encouragement and received psychotherapy for the PTSD.

How do you thank someone for giving you back your life, your sanity, your health? If I hadn’t knocked on your door, I’d still be living in drug addiction which to me was hell on earth. You’ve helped to change me, my son, my family and my grandchildren. Now I can shape my own future and make my own decisions in life.