Gavin's story: "CrossReach saved my life. It definitely has."
13 March 2022
"I'm sharing my story to help others and give people hope."
At the age of 12 Gavin was placed within the care system and spent most of his adult life in and out of prison. During this whole time Gavin was using cannabis, cocaine, Valium and alcohol every day.
On the occasions when Gavin was released from prison he had the support of his mum and gran:
“Every time I got out of jail my Mum would meet me or I would get a taxi to my Gran’s and she would have a room ready for me even if I wasn’t staying there”
However, on his final release, at age 30, Gavin found himself with no support having lost both his mum and his gran in the space of a year. At his lowest point, Gavin approached the Glasgow Drug & Alcohol Crisis Centre:
“I went there at 3am in the morning asking for help. I had just got out of jail and spent £5 grand on drugs whilst staying in a homeless hostel for 5 weeks”
He was supported there to complete a 14-day detox and prescribed opiate substitute therapy. In October 2021 Gavin was welcomed into CrossReach Whiteinch Move On Service. Initially deeply distrustful of staff, Gavin took time to settle into the accommodation:
“In my eyes, you were just authority to me and I wasn’t used to people being nice to me. I didn’t know how to react. I always thought you had an agenda and didn’t think you could be nice just for good reasons”.
Staff spent time considering Gavin’s distrust from his perspective, and, slowly and gradually, a trusting relationship was built. At a 4 week internal review, Gavin chatted, with a sense of achievement and happiness, about how he had never been 4 weeks clean and sober in his adult life.
On Christmas Day 2021 Gavin joined staff and peers for Christmas dinner at Whiteinch Move On:
“I loved Christmas Dinner with my peers and staff and I appreciated staff spending time away from their families to spend it with me. It was my first Christmas Dinner in 8 years. The last 8 I spent in a cell in prison with no contact with anyone. I felt nervous because I had never sat round a table but staff were brilliant and made me feel at home and they put me at ease. I felt I was part of a family and they cared about me”
Gavin has started the CrossReach Volunteer Training Programme and has also applied to be a volunteer at a local charity shop. He has applied for 40 jobs and has been shortlisted for one. He now feels confident about living independently in the community and has been offered a home in the local area of his choosing.
Gavin continues to do well in his recovery from substance use and has a reduction plan with his prescriber to eventually stop taking opiate substitute therapy when he feels the time is right for him.
When asked to sum up his experience of being in a CrossReach service, Gavin said:
"If I hadn’t come here, I’d have overdosed or gone back to jail. This was the first time I got out of jail and my Mum and Gran haven’t been there for me. CrossReach saved my life. It definitely has."
For more information on Whiteinch Move On Service and the incredible impact they have, you can read Scott's Story
Join our CrossReach Glasgow Recovery Services Facebook group.
