I was just 12 years old when I started using cannabis. It wasn’t long before I was addicted to heroin and committing shop lifting offense to fund my habit. This was my life; drug addiction, crime and homelessness. In 2015, I decided I wanted to change; I attempted abstinence but unfortunately relapsed. Using heroin, crack cocaine and diazepam daily I made the decision to seek the help of Sanctuary Trust Halsall House project.
At Halsall house Brian quickly engaged with drug services and progressed through the Stages System. This was very much the easy part for Brian, he had already made the decision he didn’t want to use anymore; he welcomed the structure of an abstinence project and wanted to engage with the package of support. What Brian found difficult was managing a growing feeling of guilt and remorse. He couldn’t understand why, after a short period of abstinence, he fell back into old habits. He felt he let down his friends, family, and himself.
Sanctuary Trust engaged with Brian through our Success Project. Brian started to understand how he had created pathways in his brain that subconsciously impact on his decision making. Brian recognised his power to change these pathways; with repeated and directed attention toward the designed change he managed to retrain his brain at Halsall House.
“It can be very difficult to change a habit of a life time. Truly, there is no elevator to Success; you really do have to take the stairs! I am happy to report that I remain abstinent and have since moved on to my own tenancy”
I used to wake up and think, do I drink or do I kill myself? It was a very depressing time, felt like this for years. I am now at a point where I don’t feel this way. I don’t feel the need to drink, I am now 18 months sober. I still have my
Hi, my name is Ian Beasley and I work on the RSI team for the Sanctuary trust, I started out as a Pass it on Volunteer in early 2020. I will be forever grateful to the Sanctuary and the Pass it on scheme for the opportunity and faith they have shown in me over the
My name is Rob I am the Development Manager at Sanctuary Trust. My Job consists of the development of all Sanctuary Trust projects and future development of the charity. Like lots of Sanctuary Trust staff I have lived life experience and have experienced many of the same issues the people we support across the charity
From the age of 14, I always saw the lifestyle of drugs and crime as exciting, lots of money and recognition which appealed to me as I was quite a shy and quiet child, never really noticed unless I did something wrong. I spent most of my adult life addicted to heroin and going in
Army Veteran
Albert was street homeless after losing his tenancy due to debt problems. He could no longer deny his gambling had become a problem; Albert needed to take some action. Following a successful assessment process, Albert moved into Halsall House abstinence project to begin his journey to recovery.
Army Veteran
Brian’s Story I was just 12 years old when I started using cannabis. It wasn’t long before I was addicted to heroin and committing shop lifting offense to fund my habit. This was my life; drug addiction, crime and homelessness. In 2015, I decided I wanted to change; I attempted abstinence but unfortunately relapsed. Using
