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"I have been clean for a year now and I feel great. I'm even part of my family again"

Turning Lives Around

Sally
My life was in utter turmoil when me, my husband and two children were living in homeless accommodation. We were both intravenous heroin users and also on a cocktail of diazepam and alcohol. Although we love our two children, obviously, we had to get heroin and tablets every day that resulted in shoplifting, among other things. Our children were out with us all day while we got what we wanted, so obviously, they weren't having a normal life.

I went to Compass for help 18 months ago and have not looked back since. I was given three months to give clean samples, which helped because you had a time limit and knew the goals, so it was either adhere to it or be back on street drugs. My husband ended up with a three–year prison sentence and I realised my life had to change if I did not want to go to jail. In the last 18 months, I have kicked my diazepam addiction and am now on 50mls of methadone a day.

No, a magic wand has not been waved! I still suffer from harassment and the stigma that comes with heroin. This is proving to be harder than coming off heroin but that's a different story. Compass has helped me greatly, as they give support and keep morale up, even now I still like to go every week to see my keyworker as it seems to keep my resolve up to scratch.

Jessica
I was living rough in London with a £300–£400 habit a day, getting arrested nearly every day.

My life was a mess. But times got even worse for me. I became pregnant, my habit got worse, but I had to carry on living the same life which I hated so much because I couldn't go back home with my family – I had put them through enough. As I got bigger, getting money was difficult. Even people in the drug world changed their opinions of me and people became reluctant to help me or work with me to get drugs.

Then the day came I met my friend's mum who was very supportive and gave me the courage to call home and talk to my family. That was it. I got my clothes together, what little I had and was on the next train home to York.

I then ended up having contact with Social Services and Compass and working with them to get myself and my baby back to a healthy standard of living. I still have contact with my drug counsellor who is absolutely fantastic to work with and I always feel better when we have a talk together. I am going back to college and have a beautiful healthy daughter who I adore, she is my life.

I have been clean a year now and I feel great. I'm even part of my family again.

Trevor
When I first came to Compass at 23, my life had been full of ups and downs. I'd been in and out of care and had quite a difficult childhood. At various points, my life has been quite stable and I'm educated to degree level, but there've been periods of unemployment and drug, solvent and alcohol use, leading to a number of accidents and a volatile social life.

When I first came to Compass, I was depressed after losing my job and my relationship breaking down. I was using solvents and alcohol in dangerous amounts, I was homeless and without benefits or any other financial means. Compass immediately found me emergency accommodation and contacted the benefits office for a crisis payment.

I used the drop-in almost every day, using the phone, receiving on-going support and learning about harm minimisation practice for my substance misuse. Things were OK until a crisis at the place I was staying led to a massive binge – I was told later I'd had a seizure in the drop–in but the next thing I knew, I was waking up in hospital.

When I got out of hospital, Compass helped me get a flat and I knew this was my chance to make some changes. I started a new relationship and found a new job with a charity. I'm now drug free, working full time and planning to get married in the near future, but I still like to drop in from time to time and see the old faces.

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