For the first time in 15 years, Alan’s been clean for 4 months.

Alan (43) has a long history of substance use from his early teens. He started on party drugs- cannabis, ecstasy and cocaine before starting to use heroin when he was 16. While he started using cocaine as part of his weekend free time, by his late twenties Alan’s job was badly affected. He was asked to leave his job in the motor repair industry.

Soon, he lost his flat and his parents asked him to leave their home after he relapsed. Over a number of years and a period of homelessness, Alan cut his drug use down to a binge every couple of weeks. An NHS Addictions nurse advised Alan to try Cyrenians Recovery Service for more support and to get involved with the local Recovery Community.

His Cyrenians Key Worker accompanied Alan to meetings and the Pre-Sync 27 recovery hub. Alan’s anxiety meant he struggled to attend support and mutual aid groups, but now he was able to engage with others as his confidence grew. Alan’s drug use started to diminish. Alan started Cyrenians 12 week structured group-work programme and attends every day. He has also been away from heroin for 4 months, the longest since starting using in his late twenties. He is talking about possible volunteering opportunities once the course is finished with a view to going back to work.

We’re delighted to join Alan in his journey to recovery and we’ll be there to support him into finding volunteer roles too.

(Alan is a pseudonym and this isn’t his picture)