Our partners at Pathways of Chesterfield would like to share the below story about a once homeless man who has started to turn his life around thanks to the support he has received from Pathways of Chesterfield and the Paths to Recovery Project.  For further details, read on below:

Homelessness and Recovery  

The secret of getting ahead is getting started (Mark Twain) 

Paths to recovery is a little different as a recovery project, supporting people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness into recovery.

Whenever you look up recovery and things you might need in place to make it work there is constantly talk about safe places, positive support networks, routine and structuring your time. This can feel daunting at best and near enough impossible for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. How can you even contemplate recovery when you don’t have the basics in place? 

So why bother trying? The National Institute of Drug abuse define recovery as “Recovery is a process of change through which people improve their health and wellness, live self-directed lives, and strive to reach their full potential. This suggests that every small change made leads to part of your recovery. This is nicely demonstrated below in Adam’s story. 

Adam accessed Pathways after fleeing from violence from another city.  Adam was initially rough sleeping in Chesterfield and approached Pathways of Chesterfield for housing support.  When he was initially assessed it was noticed that his hands were shaking, and he was asked about his alcohol and drug use.  Adam discussed being alcohol dependent, he was asked if he had ever considered getting support with this and he smiled and laughed and said, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”.  Adam said it had been this way since he was 14 and he had just learnt to cope with it.  After chatting with Adam about different options of support, at this point he was resigned to this was just how it was for him. 

Adam came along to one of the groups with another client and quickly engaged in the activities as he became more confident, he started helping other people attending the groups out particularly with furniture restoration which he is extremely skilled at.  Adam said he felt more like the old him, someone who was helpful.  

Adam then agreed to give the drug and alcohol group a go.  The project worked with him on a plan to reduce his alcohol use a little.  Adam came back the following week saying it hadn’t been as difficult as he thought and made bigger changes than he planned.  Adam is still working on this and is really keen to be part of the projects peer mentor program starting soon. 

This shows that even small steps are part of the Path towards recovery, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing and each step builds your confidence, skills, and resilience to try another step. 

If you would like more information on how to attend the Paths to Recovery Project, you can find contact information and can read more about the project on the GRID website’s Recovery Projects page - Pathways to Recovery Project - Pathways of Chesterfield (growingrecoveryinderbyshire.co.uk)