Will’s Story

I come from a working class background. When I was around 10 years old my parents separated and I was then brought up my mother. When I was 14 years old, she got cancer, and I cared for her whilst she was ill. Tragically, when I was 15 years old my mother committed suicide. In the year that followed, I couldn’t cope and was beginning to escape using alcohol.

At University I had opportunities, but dropped out due to drug and alcohol abuse. It was not recreational, but addictive and solitary. Then, in my 20’s, I had good positions in the hospitality industry in London. In this industry I was able to hide my continued drug and alcohol abuse with an outwardly charismatic role. Outside of work, however, I led a solitary, isolated existence, addicted to drugs and alcohol.

In my late 20’s my father passed away suddenly. Looking back, it is at this point that I should have gone to rehab. Everything fell apart. For the next 15-16 years, I hid my addiction within the hospitality industry, whilst progressively isolating myself, leading to financial bankruptcy, ill health and pushing everyone away. The only family support network I had was my sister, who had moved to Australia and I had no next of kin in the UK.

In the two years leading up to the Covid lockdown, I was in my darkest throws of alcoholism, drinking against my will daily, self-medicating with alcohol to a point of contemplating suicide. I was morally bankrupt. Having recognised the impact of suicide, I realised that I couldn’t put my sister through it. I was at a point of losing everything. I started going to AA meetings and secured a place at a residential rehab. There, I did lots of good work and was sober for 6 weeks. However, when this programme ended, I was homeless, penniless with no support in the UK.

In the interim, my sister agreed for me to stay with her in Australia and whilst there I heard about The Nehemiah Project. I was interviewed by Nehemiah staff online and came to Nehemiah from Australia. Since completing the initial twelve-week programme, I can honestly say that I am happier than I’ve ever been. I am dealing with the past trauma in my life without using drugs and alcohol as a means of escape. As I have no support network in the UK, without Nehemiah I would be out on the street. Now, I can take my recovery slowly, be safe and invest in my longer-term future.

I am now living in one of the move-on houses. I have started two courses with a view to working in brand development and marketing, away from the hospitality industry. One of the challenges that I have found in my recovery is that some people have been prejudiced against me because I don’t fit the stereotypical addict I’m well-spoken and educated, and haven’t committed crime, so am seen as having less of a need than others have.