“I feel I have hope”

My name is Amy, I am 42 years old and I have been accessing support through Likewise and Project 6 for the last two years. My DoCs were alcohol and cocaine, and they took me to some very dark places.

I have always cared for my mum for as long as I can remember, she struggled with poor mental health, prescription drugs, and alcohol addiction. My childhood was not easy because of this, and I also have ADHD with Autistic traits.I used various substances on and off throughout my teenage years, however I did settle down and eventually had children with my then partner.

My drinking and cocaine use spiralled out of control just prior to the first lockdown in 2020. During lockdown, it became a lot worse. I had a lot of pressure as I had started back at college doing a Nursing Access course and suddenly found myself homeschooling two young children whilst having to do a full time course. I also had to look after my mum as she was shielding. I found the isolation made her issues worse and so she required a lot of additional support. My partner was going to work full time and I was extremely overwhelmed. Because of all of this, I began to rely heavily on substances to get me through, however, this led me down a very dark path and I separated with my children’s father and subsequently had to leave the family home.

I was depressed, isolated, and felt that there was no point to life. I wasn’t seeing my children anywhere near enough and had surrounded myself with toxic people. I was struggling to pay bills and eat because of my substance use and it really was the lowest of low points. It was unbearable.

Things changed when I met back up with an old school friend, and she signposted me to Likewise, and Project 6. She had accessed these services and completed the Structured Recovery Programme a few years prior to this and seeing her success made me think. It did take some time for me to pluck up the courage to ‘get through the doors’ as I had doubts around how they would treat me as a parent and what it meant for me and my children, however I accessed the service for help and I have to say, I am so so glad that I did.

I still struggled massively at first, as you know, the road to recovery is long and not at all smooth, however, with help and understanding from my support workers, regular appointments and meetings, and now the Structured Group Course, I can honestly say, that from the bottom of my heart, I do not know what I would have done without them.

The services and people working within them have gone to such lengths to help me get back on track. Although it is still early days, I am doing so much better than I was. Binges started being less frequent and for shorter times, until finally, they came to an end and I am sober!

I am more in control of my life and for the first time in a long long time I feel I have hope for the future. My children are with me regularly,getting the attention, love and time that they deserve and need – I have a new lease of life as a sober mum!

I had just started the SGP and sadly, my mother (as you know, was struggling with substance and had been for nearly 30 years) passed away. It was sudden, and I could have caved and ended up right back at square one, but people from the services started to reach out. I maintained sobriety throughout this difficult time, mainly because I had the support, wisdom, care and understanding of such wonderful people that are part of the amazing organisations of Likewise and Project 6. (It was also down to a good support network of friends and family, luckily they stayed to support me, you know who you are!)

I feel, strongly, that I owe my life and sobriety to Likewise and Project. I feel so inspired by what these people bring to the lives of people who need them, and it pushes me to thrive and live the life that I didn’t think was possible anymore.

Thank you, thank you, I truly feel blessed and so,so grateful.

Amy x