Barry's Story.

The shock of his mum dropping dead from a massive heart attack led Barry* to a wave of unprecedented drinking to block out his grief. Three and a half years on, he turned to rehab for help.

After breaking his dependence on alcohol, Barry was getting his life on track when he received a prison sentence ‘out of the blue.’ Maintaining his innocence, Barry feels let down by the lack of support at the time. Coming out of prison he believed he had a place to stay – but it fell through, leaving him with nothing.

Living in a large industrial building, Barry was pleased that it had a roof. During the day he would leave his belongings there – often coming back with ‘all my stuff on the floor, sometimes my things thrashed, urinated on and once, even poured oil on it! This happened so often, it really effected my wellbeing.’

First, he was taken for a coffee, given access to a phone and eventually supported in finding a place to stay. Within two weeks, Barry moved into a hostel and took little steps to living in his own home, where he remains now.

Barry describes this experience as

“A learning curve – I feel hope, I’m progressing, whereas I didn’t have that before. My mental health too, is a lot better since I got my housing – a base, somewhere to go.”

Alongside applying for permanent housing, Barry has made a friend in his accommodation, he says: ‘we support each other, we boot each other in the butt.’ He talks about their ‘get ahead days,’ where they tick off important things from their to-do lists.

His parting words: ‘P3 will help you, but then you have to help yourself as well. It’s standing on your two feet, seeing how far you’ve come. From your point of view, not much has changed. But those around you can see you change week in, week out.’