Micky lost everyone important in his life in a very short amount of time and, perhaps because of that, developed chronic schizophrenia. To compound things, he lost his flat and ended up sleeping rough on the cold, hard streets of Watford.
Life on the streets
He recalled: “When you’re on the street you’re constantly surrounded by drugs, so I ended up addicted too. Other people didn’t see me like one of them. They spat at me, told me to ‘get a job’, threw things at me and sometimes tried to assault me.
“Over the winter I was living in a tent, but it was always so terribly cold. I went to the Haven each day for a meal and a shower. You can’t hold a job when you live on the streets and don’t know where you’ll stay each night, so I needed money.”
During the day he often begged with a friend. The money they raised didn’t buy food or clothes; it just fuelled his addiction.
“I was so depressed back then I could have just given up. I was dying, basically. I was taking hundreds of pounds a day in drugs and I hadn’t eaten in 14 days. It was then that the Haven team helped me to get a room.”
Support at the Haven and New Hope House
“The Haven team were great and made the connections to get me to New Hope House.”
Micky said the staff were amazing at the Haven and at New Hope House. “Every day they give you breakfast, lunch and clean clothes. Everyone talks to you like you’re anyone else. They banter with you and have a joke, but I never felt that they ever judged me.
“In meetings they sit you down to find out how you are, and when you don’t come in, they send the outreach team out with a hot cup of tea to find out what’s up.”
28 days clean
He added: “I’m so thankful to everyone that supported me here and the people that helped me on the street. Even though I missed appointments a few times, I was still given a room at the Recovery Services, where I’ve done my 28 days completely clean from drugs.
“While it was easy to come off the drugs, staying off them is hard. But after a small relapse I realised I didn’t want them anymore.”
Looking ahead
“I’m now getting ready to move on to another one of New Hope’s houses, where I can be more independent and get ready for living in my own place again and, hopefully, getting back to work.”
