Liam’s Story – Jericho Mens House

I’m Liam and today I’m grateful to be abstinent from all mind and mood-altering substances, grateful to have a better understanding that I wasn’t a bad person trying to get good. But rather a sick person trying to get better. Finally, I’ll be eternally grateful to Jericho house for loving and caring for me when I thought and felt my life was worthless, pointless and meaningless. Today I love my life and cherish every moment. 

I arrived at Jericho house Greenock aged 41 mentally and emotionally in tiny pieces. I had tried to get help since I was around 25 years old, beginning with doctors, drug addiction services and later phycologists and psychiatrists. At this point it was easy to blame the lifestyle and drugs I was abusing, never once thinking that I was the problem. I could stop briefly for a limited time but I’ve got a disease that is progressive in nature and 25 plus years of using eventually caught up with me.

Sadly, I’d never heard of Jericho throughout all my years of thinking I knew everything about everything. It was my mum who in unconditional love and despair guided me to enquiring into becoming a resident after another family member had gone and had transformed his life and what amazed me more that he was still clean.

I always thought treatment (rehab) was for super rich and couldn’t believe this one was later found out had the top recovery rate in Europe was all paid for by charity donations and fundraising and a small amount of my benefits.

My first day in Jericho was the 29th September 2022 and I stayed for over 8 months. I was introduced to NA and embraced fully on the twelve steps of recovery. I had my own key worker who I built up a strong, special trusting relationship with, who helped guide me to start living a more spiritual life beginning with helping me become honest, open minded and willing. This sounds really simple to the majority of society but for myself who lived a chaotic, unmanageable life, this was a tough culture shock. Other factors that Jericho provided which helped shatter my self-centred fears and obsessions were thoughts and feelings groups, where I learned to share what was going on for me as well as learning to be assertive without being confrontational and coming from a caring loving place. Jericho also took me to NA live meetings 7 days a week which helped me build a connection with other recovering addicts who could understand my story and support me. I’ve now got real friends who have my best intentions instead of old associations who just used and abused each other.

I was lucky enough to attend family support which is on every Monday by Margaret Diamond who runs the female house. This is where families affected by addiction are welcomed to come and learn that addiction is a disease as well as how to deal with trauma and so on. 

Other activities which Jericho provided which helped build my self-esteem and self-worth up were football once a week, strength and conditioning at a local gym once a week and yoga which I’m not going top lie about, I struggled with.

I learned to be responsible for myself and take pride in what I do. for example, in Jericho each week the house works a therapeutic duty rota and I always did my task to the best of my ability,

My story in Jericho was enjoyed and not endured. I made the best friends imaginable and had the best laughs in my life. I left in June 2023 and thought I had done enough. My story is however relapsed and paradoxically today I am ok that it happened as I believe I had to experience another sore blip to finally surrender.

In the three months of leaving Jericho I had relapsed, disconnected from NA, started gambling hard again, and most devastatingly. My dad died. I was riddled with self-pity, shame, regret, and remorse.

Luckily for me I attended the Jericho aftercare program and I truly believe that by keeping the connection open has saved my life.

I had to surrender again and get humility into my life and was blessed to get back to Jericho for a second go and deal with my demons such as “why I relapsed”, the death and grief of my dad start the program again with a perspective that I didn’t know anything about.

The Jericho program hasn’t changed in 20 plus years so I knew that this time it was me that had to change my behaviours, attitudes and thinking if I wanted a more peaceful, manageable life.

Nine months have now passed and I’m leaving tomorrow, the 28th of June 2024. I’m not sure how to explain the love and gratitude I have for this place. All I know is I feel safe here and I want to always be a part of it now. I’m no longer negative, irritable and agitated with life. Being clean is a gift that Jericho has shined a light on for me.

It’s now over to me again. This time with solid foundations and with the faith instilled in me from Jericho and the program to navigate through life successfully without picking up drugs and I’m confident I will.