Portsmouth Homeless Drug and Alcohol Team

Homeless, suffering from anxiety resulting from trauma which he endured as a child, James (now aged 47) turned to using substances and drinking alcohol in excess amounts at an early age. He had a difficult relationship with his family and moved around frequently as a child, which resulted in him never feeling that he could call anywhere home. As James grew older he found it difficult to maintain a working life. He experienced overwhelming anxiety in the workplace to the extent that he could no longer work without drinking alcohol to block out his emotions. James wanted to be able to socialise with other people, but found his feelings of anxiety overwhelming and found it extremely difficult to attend groups which aimed to help people address their substance use.

James’s problems culminated in his becoming street homeless. He first received help from a recovery worker, who supported him in addressing his substance use and accessing housing options. Despite wanting support, he frequently missed his appointments with his worker. However, James slowly came to realise that even if he did not attend his appointment with his recovery worker, she would nevertheless meet him at his temporary accommodation at the same time each week. This consistency and reliability encouraged James to engage more frequently and over time he improved his attendance. He gradually became more motivated to address his alcohol use and felt that he needed some support addressing his anxiety, which was an underlying reason behind his alcohol use.

James then started working with an assistant psychologist who helped him to challenge underlying beliefs relating to his anxious thoughts and introduced him to some techniques to address his anxiety. He at first struggled with being aware of his thoughts and feelings and how they influenced his behaviour, but over time challenged himself to explore these in more depth.

James continued engaging with his recovery worker and assistant psychologist and expressed to his recovery worker that he would like to receive a detox and rehabilitation, as he felt ready to make some lasting changes in his life. Although he was willing to engage in support, he felt he could not cut down his alcohol consumption entirely on his own, and felt he needed a fresh start and treatment away from Portsmouth. A few months later, James undertook treatment at a detoxification centre which was followed by a programme of rehabilitation.

James has now graduated from rehabilitation. He is now leading a very different life and has been engaging in many recovery activities in the community: he is about to start some volunteering, he is attending college with the possibility of progressing to a further course that would give him access to university, he goes to the gym and swimming pool several times a week, he is attending daily Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and has an sponsor.

James is grateful for the support he received from the Portsmouth Homeless Drug and Alcohol Team. He was supported in his journey from being homeless, suffering with mental illness and being unwilling to make changes to his drinking, to accessing detoxification and rehabilitation, being empowered to begin his new journey in recovery.