A window into LandWorks

“It’s really nice for me to be able to do a talk on Supporters Day, and that’ll be a good opportunity for me to say how grateful I am. I think everyone loves a happy ending, don’t they? Compared to when I first came here, if anyone said that to me then, I’d be like “no”. I’ll be really proud. It’ll be a proud moment for me, and it’ll be lovely that the boys will be there. It’s just great. It’s been a massive, incredible journey. It’s been so, so good and it’s been the best time of my life really because I’ve finally managed to get clean after all those years of trying. To come here and be welcomed with open arms and have that support around me, it’s brilliant…

I’ll be here until the beginning part of September and doing a bit of gardening and then going off into the sunset I suppose. I’ve been doing my peer-mentoring course and I’m hoping to do some volunteering work with them. I think it’ll be great to be able to help people that have been there. They’re in the same situation that I’ve been in. I think with drug addiction, it’s one of them where it’s really hard, no matter how qualified you are, to be able to get what it’s all about from a textbook. I think it’s a really challenging thing for anyone to get their head around unless they’ve been there, and because I have been there and have managed to get through to the other side, I’m really keen to try and help anyone in the same situation…

I came in in December. I’m different in every way now. I can vaguely remember the head-space I was in back then and it was that of a completely different person, in all shapes and ways, the way I looked, the way I interacted with people. Compared to now, it’s a complete transformation…

The PeN project has been one of the things that I’ve really looked forward to doing. What makes the PeN project so special is that it gives people from the outside who just drive past the gate, it gives them a window into seeing what goes on here. The more people that know what a special place this is, the better, because it changed my life for the better in every single way, on all different levels… it’s a really great tool and you don’t know what can come from it. It’s really good…

That’s another amazing thing about PeN is the fact that you get to read back from the old to the new. I’ve done it a few times. You can really get the sense of achievement and it’s such an incredible journey. That again is another great thing about PeN, you really do see the difference and you can feel it through the words and everything that we talk about. So, it’s an amazing thing…

The bottom line for me, what makes this place is the people, each individual has so many special qualities. I think anyone that comes here will see that and feel it instantly. When I came here on my induction day and I was just getting shown around by Chris and I was still using at the time, I thought “f*#*ing hell”, but even in that state of mind I still sensed it was a good place. Something in me just went “I need to be here”.

It was a bit of a rocky road to begin with because I was still using right up until January, but I still knew it was meant to be. I really appreciate Chris for sticking by me and giving me that chance to change. I feel privileged myself for being fortunate enough to have been put in this place. It’s never happened for me to find so many special people in one place. That in itself is cool. That’s definitely a good positive note to end on, isn’t it?”