Stacey's story

“It might not sound like a big deal, but at the start, one day, two days… five days without using are massive milestones. I celebrated them all as major achievements! It’s 212 days for me now and I still celebrate every day that I haven’t used drugs.”

Stacey has come a long way in a short space of time. This time last year, she was using crack-cocaine after struggling with cocaine use for some time. Stacey spent six weeks living at DHI’s Burlington House supported housing scheme in Bath after escaping an unhappy marriage and utterly determined to stop using drugs. Burlington House helps people recover from problematic drink or drug use in a stable environment.

Stacey describes her time at Burlington House as ‘my saviour’: “I know people say these things all the time, but those six short weeks totally changed my life – my focus, my objectives – everything!

“I’d hit rock bottom. My cocaine use was out of hand and I’d started using crack-cocaine. The worst thing was that I lost custody of my kids. That was when I knew I need to make some big changes, and quickly.

“Moving into Burlington House, doing detox, getting counselling – all through DHI – these things genuinely changed my life.”

Stacey was also able to get help from DHI’s West of England Works service. West of England Works helps people who haven’t been in work for an extended period to develop the skills and knowledge they need to find work. Stacey got help from DHI employment and skills worker Lisa with her CV, looking for jobs and interview techniques. She also helped Stacey to apply to DHI’s Two Bridges Trust – a fund administered by DHI that enables people to apply for a small grant for work, education or training purposes. Stacey was able to get a laptop that she used for online training courses, searching for jobs and for an interview that took place via Zoom that she was successful with.

“The big thing that’s changed for me is I feel like I have options again. DHI have done so much for me and I’m just so grateful that they’ve been there.”