'Addiction recovery service helped me stop feeling scared'

Former addict Phil Bowman helped to set up Stoke Recovery Service a decade ago

"There's a saying in recovery - the opposite to addiction is connection."

Recovering addict Phil Bowman recently celebrated 12 years of sobriety, having abused substances including crack cocaine and heroin since he was in his teens.

In 2015, he helped to set up Stoke Recovery Service, in Stoke-on-Trent, to support others going through similar situations.

As the service marked its 10th anniversary, Mr Bowman shed a light on how difficult it could be for people to fight off their addictions and how connecting with others could help.

"When I was in recovery, it was all about throwing methadone at the problem or giving me another prison sentence," he told BBC Radio Stoke. "It was never really about that sense of community."

A team leader at the organisation, he said it was that sense of community that made it so vital.

"When they come to Stoke Recovery Service, they haven't got that crutch to lean on. Their emotions are raw and their mental health issues are quite bad," he added.

Jamie Devine got into trouble after he started gambling heavily

Among those supported by the service was Jamie Devine, who used to work at a start-up company but began "gambling heavily".

"I stole nearly £40,000 from the company I was director of, in order to pay the loan-sharks off," he said.

He became homeless and started using drugs before he was arrested, but fled to Scotland after he was released on bail. He was eventually arrested and sent to prison.

"The moment that cell locked, I was a 10-year-old frightened little boy again," he said. "I waited for my cell mate to go to sleep and cried myself to sleep."

Mr Devine has been in recovery for almost 14 months and said he had realised he was previously driven by fear.

He added: "Being in recovery has given me the opportunity to be able to deal with those things the fear was based around - that loss of identity, that black hole inside of me, and now I am no longer scared."

'Wonderful thing'

Support provided by Stoke Recovery Service includes recovery groups, one-to-one appointments and therapy.

It was created after a report commissioned by Stoke-on-Trent City Council in 2014 showed a lot of people being treated for drug and alcohol dependency were unable to get out of the system into recovery.

The service is run by BAC O'Connor, in partnership with North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust and the WithYou charity.

BAC O'Connor CEO Kendra Gray said: "To see how many people are accessing the service and to see so many people across the city getting the opportunity to get their lives back and reconnect with family, it's just a wonderful thing to be doing."