Moss Side in the city, first smoked cannabis aged eight and went on to use a variety of drugs over the next 20 years. He said: “It would be easy to tell you what I haven’t used.”
But in 1986 he was attacked and almost killed after a deal went wrong. entered the start of treatment medications and the blessing of recovery, and with a lot of pain and love the experience was powerful enough to see him stop using completely
I recall: “I thought I was going to die, and was sick of being sick.”
But it was further personal tragedy, the suicides of two older brothers who were both addicts, that saw me begin my journey toward recovery and drug work.
“I have lost and watched many people that I loved die, and I saw drugs taking its toll on the carers of addicts and their families in the area where I lived. That was the start of my rehabilitation.” I began working with Manchester Education Resource Centre and Trafford Community Drug Team, and recall
“It changed my life. My dyslexia was diagnosed and it encouraged me to get involved in the NHS Piper Project, a drop-in service for addicts which offered education and training advice. That opened the door me to become a drug worker.”
Anthony believes his own experiences are key to the help he now offers drug addicts: “I don’t hide my own background or recovery. I want to show them there is a
way out and model it. But it may not be my way; they have choices to find their own way to recovery.”
Living with addiction is all about establishing relational depth with myself, community involvement, groups all kinds of recovery,therapy, and providing support for fellow addicts and those who look after people with addictions - carers and families.
” today the journey goes ……on so to all the people that are in or affected by addiction Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol, morphine or idealism. “If you take a pill to make everything better, then you don’t know when things are fucked up. If you don’t know when things are fucked up, then you can’t fix it yourself.”
We need recovery.
