Ian’s story

When Ian first moved into his Derventio home he was struggling to cope with his addiction problems. He was referred to the support coach service, where he worked with support coach Laura to find ways to make positive changes.

Laura made a referral to a drug treatment centre and attended all my appointments with me. I was prescribed methadone to help me come off the drugs. During this time I also had to attend court and I was convinced I would get sent to prison. Instead I was given a 12 week suspended sentence. This gave me more motivation to come off the drugs as I was still smoking some crack cocaine on top of my methadone.

I asked if I could move to a new area to I could start afresh and get away from the drugs and the people I was seeing at the time. Laura also discussed with me about attending Growing Lives. She felt I would benefit a lot as there is so much to do there to keep my busy both mentally and physically.

Since moving to the new property and starting at Growing Lives I have become so much more positive. I am not using any drugs, I am eating so much better and I am really enjoying my time here.

We have used a stock photo and changed Ian’s name to protect his anonymity.