Drug Addicts Anonymous helping recovering addicts in Blackpool stay clean

Blackpool’s drugs problems have been well documented and the town regularly features in statistics about the highest drug-related death figures in the country.

But for those facing the massive difficulties in trying to get off drugs such as heroin, help is out there.

And for recovering addicts Stuart, John, Heather and Ross, the most powerful aid in helping them is the realisation that they are not alone.

They are all members of the group Drug Addicts Anonymous (DAA) which meets every week and gives them the chance to share their experiences and help each other.

A key part of it is the fact that they all know - from harsh personal experience – the kind of issues they have all gone through.

The current group, based on the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous, was set up in 2018, although it is the successor to an earlier group formed in 2010.

Stuart, 50, has been clean for more than a decade but he is still attending DAA sessions every week.

He said: “Essentially, heroin addicts are selfish because nothing matters to you more than getting the next fix.

"It’s all you think about and it is more important than anything – or anyone – else in your life.

"So when you’re on it your relationships, your job, if you have one – they just disappear.

"When people are on it, it all goes the same way in the end – jail, mental health units, being homeless or dying young.

"It is impossible to get clean without help. You can try but it’s just too hard.

"One of the best things about a 12-step course is that you are actually helping other people instead of being just selfish. That feels good.

"It gives me goosebumps just to see these people sitting around a table like this, knowing what they’ve been through.”

Stuart started takes drugs at 14 and was a happy-go luck character who enjoyed cannabis, speed and alcohol.

But the problems started when he began using heroin at 16 and he says he became an “empty shell”.

He says the final straw was when there was an incident with his family that made his realise he finally had to stop.

He started attending DAA, a 12 step programme, shortly after it was set up, and starting to see an end to his obsession with drugs.

By staying clean, he has been able to rebuild his life and relationships he had lost and says: “ I feel like I’m a human being.”

John, 45, has been clean for 27 months after being hopelessly addicted to heroin since he was in his late teens.

He said: “It got to to the point where I didn’t care if the next hit killed me.

"I have a horrendous criminal record for shoplifting, commercial burglaries and drug dealing – all because of drugs.

"When I started taking heroin, all bets were off.

"For years I was sleeping in shop doorways in Blackpool and then I’d go to jail, it was an endless cycle.”

But things finally changed one day when he was in the reception area of Preston Prison.

He said: “I was standing there, weighing seven-and-a-half stone and the man was taking my picture and said “Watch the birdy”.

"I don’t know why, but it made me realise how many times I’d heard them say it. I’d had enough.

"I became open-minded about getting help and it’s the best thing I have ever done.

"When I started with DAA I knew it would work.

"I had tried so many times before to stop. You can’t do it without help.”

Heather, 44, starting taking drugs at 13 after she became part of crowd in Blackpool who would take all sorts of drugs and drink.

She started taking heroin at 16 and thought she could avoid getting hooked.

She said: “It actually took me two years before I knew I was an addict.

"I liked taking heroin, it was a like a warm blanket making all your worries disappear, but I woke up one morning and I was craving it.

"I never got drawn into crime, never went to prison – I got on a methadone treatment plan.

"But every amount of money I had, I would use it to get heroin.

"I became a mum and the only reason I didn’t lose custody was down to pure luck.”

Now clean for more than a year, she said: “The thing about DAA is the emotional support you get. The friendship and support is massive, it’s made such a difference to my life.”

Ross, 50, is now a volunteer helping homeless people and attends DAA every week. He has been clean for 14 months.

He said: “I started taking speed when I was in the Army and ended up going AWOL.

"When I tried heroin that was the start of my life just falling away.

"I’ve been in and out of jail, I’ve been sectioned and I even tried to kill myself with an overdose.

“I lost my family, I got hepatitis C, I don’t think I could have got lower than I was.

"So to be be able to help other people and feel like a decent person, it means so much.

"With DAA you lose that thing that you had – that feeling of being totally alone.”

The DAA meetings take place each week at three different locations in Blackpool

Stepping into Freedom sessions are held each Wednesday from 7.15pm to 8.30pm at St Thomas' Parish Centre, 135 Caunce Street.

The Big Book Awakenings meetings are every Thursday at 7.30pm to 8.30pm at the Freedom Building, 258 Church Street.

And the New Beginning's group meets on Sundays at 7.30pm - 8.30pm at the Victory Baptist Church on St Annes Road.

The Blackpool Helpline is 07522930680.