‘JOHN’ RETURNS TO LIFE FROM THE GRAVEYARD

'John’, a former Army signaler with a significant alcohol problem, came to Veterans Aid for assistance in January 2007 after finding himself homeless. He joined the Army aged 25 but after three years he was drinking too much and was discharged. The tenancy on his family home had ended with his parents’ deaths and with nowhere to go, he slept on friends’ floors for two years before ending up on the streets.

He says: “I didn’t know anything about hostels but then I found shelters run by churches. You got a camp bed and breakfast but could only stay one night at a time. The next day you had to move to the next shelter on a list – making sure you called them first or it could be full and you would be left on the street.” Eventually someone mentioned Veterans Aid and there he was given clothes, money and a bed at New Belvedere House.

Despite the staff’s best efforts, John continued to drink heavily. Eventually he was evicted and despite being given six further chances by Pat at New Belvedere he refused to accept his drink problem. After his final eviction from the hostel, he began sleeping rough in a nearby graveyard. His drinking became increasingly chaotic and, before he knew it, he had been homeless for three months.

Eventually, after countless searches around Stepney and many missed appointments, John agreed to meet up with Phil Rogers, the Veterans Aid Substance Misuse Worker. He was referred a ‘wet house’ in Portsmouth for chaotic street drinkers and drug users not yet ready to address their addictions. The environment came as an utter shock. Within a week he made the admirable but dangerous decision to stop drinking immediately without medical assistance.

He suffered a seizure and was rushed to hospital. Again Phil linked in to see what could be done to help. John had finally reached the decision that he must get help with his drinking or face an early grave. After completing his detox in hospital Phil moved John into an abstinence based project in Kent. This worked and he now in a four-bedroom dry house, seven months sober, continuing aftercare and confident about the future.

“I am in contact with my daughter again after ten years – she was only three when I last saw her – and also with my other brother. I’m planning to take a training course in construction. I have been thinking about a future with a well paid job.”

Hugh Milroy summed up Matthew’s story: “This is a remarkable story of courage and fortitude. It is a huge success. Others are following.”

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