I've found my purpose

In saying that there are people who appear to be filled with genuine thankfulness for the place their journeys have brought them to – a place beyond anything they could have hoped for or have imagined.

This is the testimony of Philip Root, who took time out of his busy work schedule to talk about being shortlisted in the 2022 Scottish Social Services Awards (SSSA) Bright Spark in Social Care category. 

Phill, a support worker at our Whiteinch Move-On service said with refreshing humility, “I’m one of the lucky ones. Some people have jobs - I’ve found my purpose and I’m living the dream every day.”

His passion for the people he works to support was almost tangible: “I work with people in homelessness and people with alcohol and drug use. I came from these services. I came through this service myself.  When I’m working with somebody that I’m supporting there’s very little they could say to me that I haven’t experienced myself.”

“I got treated with love and compassion and respect and all those things when I was here.  It’s just great to be on the other side of the table and to be able to give that to somebody else and hopefully they find their own path in life.  That’s what it's all about and I love the fact that it’s called ‘Move On’ because that’s what it’s all about. You want to inspire people to live independently and move on with their life.”

The path of Philip’s journey took him through experiences of homelessness, prison and addiction, all of which isolated him from the people who loved him.  Yet, the cry of his heart was to have a sense of belonging – a sense of home.

Finally, Philip came to CrossReach Abstinence Recovery Service, previously Rainbow House, where a light finally came on for him:

“I was the problem. It wasn’t the services that I had been in or the people who hung about me or my past or any of that stuff. It was me, and it was my job to change that.  I had to change my thinking. I had to change my behaviours. I had to change everything about myself and I was allowed to do that under the protection of what we call the ‘Rainbow bubble’. I was allowed to make mistakes and I was allowed to grow – all the things that I wasn’t allowed to do or I didn’t’ allow myself to do in my active addiction. That’s where my [recovery] journey really began and I realised I was done with that lifestyle.”

“It had obviously been horrific for my mum and siblings but I had no idea what I had put them through at the time.  I would always be telling my mum how well I was doing and how things were going to be different this time – I was completely deluded. I was stealing my mum’s peace of mind. So when I got to CRRS I was saying the same things but I knew in my heart this time it was different.”

“My mum told me it was after a year of me being clean and sober that she actually started to relax because she had ‘seen it all before.”

Five years on, Phill says he can hardly describe how it feels to have invited his mum to be his guest to the upcoming SSSA event. Compared to what it once was, his life is hardly recognisable: Phill has a proud mum, is in a loving relationship, is a dad and has reconnected with his siblings.

As the interview was coming to an end, we noted the achievement it would be if he did win the SSSA category.  His enthusiastic smile quickly became a serious expression, “There’s a lot of very worthy people out there,” he said, “and being nominated is genuinely beautiful – it makes me happy, so whoever does get it, deserves it!”
Thank you, Phill, for sharing your story with us and we hope you and your mum thoroughly enjoy the SSSA finalist event.

CrossReach’s residential rehabilitation after substance use
Whiteinch Move On Service
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* Following the sad news of the death of Her Majesty The Queen, Scottish Social Services Awards have decided to postpone this year’s Awards ceremony as a mark of respect. You can keep up to date with the rescheduling of the event on the SSSA website. [15.09.22]