Moving on...

At the moment I'm editing and uploading film to You Tube. The filming took place last year and Mark Saunders and I got to have a go at being on the 'other side' of the camera for a change! A lot of the people we filmed, have become volunteers with Wired In and have moved on somewhat from the stage they were at when the filming took place.

It is totally amazing how that change manifests itself for different people. One of the individuals we filmed is now drug free, has secure accommodation and has started to help others along their path to recovery. His spiritual life has blossomed, in fact he's a different person to the one we filmed - There's a sunny outlook now, the darkness has gone!

One of the other guys we filmed (Chris Hobbs) is now well maintained on a substitute prescription and doesn't use street drugs anymore. He also has his own private accommodation. With all the money he's saved from not buying drugs, he has passed his driving test and bought a car, which has given him the freedom to visit his extended family, living in England, and also to get around a lot easier with his young family.

To be in the position where I can witness individuals, making these kind of changes in their lives, is an unbelievable privilege that many do not get the chance to experience. It is definitely the best part of my job. There are many people that make it out of drug addiction into recovery, and recovery that is long-term too. But the problem is that we don't always get to hear about those people, and this is why I believe that what Wired In is doing is so important. For those who are still trapped in the depths of addiction, there can be no better person to hear about recovery from, than a recovered addict - straight from the horses mouth. 

We should all be pushing for this kind of thing to happen on a far bigger scale, with proper funding. Until ex-addicts are given the platform to be able to discuss their personal experiences, victory's and failures, then we simply aren't going to understand recovery, with all of it's connotations. The better our understanding of recovery, that is, understanding gained from those who have recovered, the better we can facilitate recovery in others.