so recovery for me, as you know, is vital. sobriety is the first thing i think of every morning. still? still. that doesn t change? never will change, that. it s the end of may now and i m catching up with mike again, outside the recovery centre. this is where i used to drink. that places the devil the devil. honestly? honestly. it can be like this everyone for coming out of addiction. temptation can feel ever present. for mike, it sjust across the road, birkenhead s bars and pubs and nightclubs just steps away. it depends on what side of the street you want to be on, doesn t it? when you look over there is there any temptation? no, no. it s just disgust, more than anything. really? really. and i m just like, oh! because i sort of get a flashback to, like, me being kicked out by a bouncer because i was too pissed or something. and i mjust, oh, what we were you thinking?! yeah. you re very positive. you ve got to be. you have to be. laughter.
boy and hoping he will soon join hannah s son here for overnight stays, making it a properfamily home. for mike, dame carol s visit here is a unique opportunity. mike introduced himself. he has been with us through service, volunteering, the discovery academy. it s not everyday the lad from birkenhead gets to tell his story in person to the government s most important drugs advisor. it is my two year birthday today. i am two years clean and sober today. i have got a real passion for this and i really want to help people. what was your problem? drugs or alcohol? both. alcohol and drugs were hand in hand for me. they saved my life and from volunteering i applied for a job, and now i am recovery co ordinator for the non opiate team. fantastic. that makes me very happy. dame carol is happy because mike s story is one of hope. perhaps most importantly, it shows others caught in the vortex of the drugs or the drink, that things can
yeah. and corrected it. have you been low, mike? yeah, i have had moments of depression and moments of being down and that can creep up at any time. you could have the greatest day and something that happens is, like, oh, what if i could do that? what if i could have a drink? it s the first 30 seconds but then it s about realising, back to reality sort of thing and then, boom, you know where you need to be. it s march and andrew is welcoming a vip visitor to birkenhead. shipbuilding was closing. young people didn t see a future. literally, in some estates in birkenhead, were some of the first places where the heroin epidemic started. we ve been telling dame carol black, the country s top independent advisor on tackling drug misuse, about the recovery village here. this is our cafe. is this your cafe? yeah! and she has asked to come and see it. pleased to meet you.
change. that there can be life after addiction. i am extremely happy, i m not depressed. there are things that drugs and alcohol stripped me of but there is a lot of things now that i am rebuilding. you can follow more of my year in birkenhead next weekend on the bbc news channel as i discover the toxic link between addiction and mental health. and an extended version is also available from today on the bbc iplayer addiction: the road to recovery. if you ve been affected by any of the issues in this film, you can get advice and support at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
there are plenty in birkenhead who regard dave as a lifesaver. he has been there and done it. it s nice to hold onto where i was and what i ve got now. he commands respect because he cares for people like mike. it s obvious he was a different person then than when you speak to him now, because he was in pain. you could see it. he couldn t necessarily look you in the eyes, you know. he was kind of talking to you, head down. once you put all these things in place and get a hold of this, and making those changes, he started to lift his head up, he looked at you when he talked to you, started to like himself more. he didn t like himself. a lot of people who come to these things don t.