Care Opinion

Text size

Theme

Language

Videos in BSL or ISL
Help with language translation
Help with reading or listening

New Life, New Beginning

Posted By Nightshade

"New Life, New Beginning"

About: CGL Birmingham / Central & West Hub

(as the patient),

I hadn't left the house or seen the outside world for 3 and a half years due to agoraphobia, being very mentally unwell and an alcoholic. 

I was referred to CGL Central & West and my Recovery coordinator, Lee, was understanding with me and did our appointments over the phone.

I was then told  I must attend group sessions in order to be put forth for detox and rehab.  It wasn't easy at all, but Candice, Lisa & Paddy were absolutely brilliant. Supportive, encouraging and understanding.

 I went into Detox, then into rehab. I completed this successfully and moved into Sober Living, a brand new city, starting a brand new life.

I'm 101 days sober and ready to live again. This would not have been possible without Lee, Candice, Paddy, Lisa and Wayne (residential detox & rehab worker) who have helped me more than they know. Pay rises for all please! 😁 I put I the hard work, listened and learned in all group sessions and took back control of my life.

I see this as a rebirth. Thank you CGL Birmingham Central & West. Thank you so much 💙💖💙💖💙

More about:
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Lydia Broom, Service User Involvement Lead, The Service User Involvement Team, Change Grow Live Birmingham 13 months ago
Lydia Broom
Service User Involvement Lead, The Service User Involvement Team,
Change Grow Live Birmingham

Submitted on 05/07/2024 at 14:33
Published on Care Opinion at 14:33

picture of Lydia Broom

Dear Nightshade

Thank you for getting in touch with us about your experiences. My name is Lydia and I am responsible for listening and responding to people’s feedback and I am sorry it has taken me a little while to reply.

I was so glad to read about the huge turn around you have made in your life. It sounds like you were in a very desperate situation, and I can’t even begin to imagine how it must have felt over those 3.5 years, not feeling able to leave the house due to your alcohol use and mental health.

I’m really glad that you had a supportive response from Lee your Recovery Coordinator. It must have felt really unsettling to have to leave your home and attend your appointments, especially in the early stages of your support. It sounds like being able to engage over the phone with Lee, rather than having to come into our service straight away, was really helpful to you at that time.

Attending groups with our service really does help people to prepare for their detox and rehab experience, as there is a lot of group work in residential settings. It was amazing to hear that you managed to beat your anxieties and engage in those sessions, and I have no doubt that must have taken a lot of strength. It sounds like Candice, Lisa and Paddy all helped you to achieve this, and I am so glad that you felt understood and encouraged by their support.

Huge congratulations on your sober time. I hope you feel incredibly proud of every barrier you have broken down and every goal you have achieved on your journey to getting there. And especially proud of the attitude that you showed towards learning from the groups that were available and of all of the hard work and commitment it has taken.

Your amazing feedback and story of recovery has been shared with the whole team of people who supported you on your journey, including Wayne our Residential Support Worker, and they were all really appreciative of your kind words and were honoured to read about the amazing progress you have made.

I hope the move you have made to your new city is a really successful one and that you continue to go from strength to strength into the future.

Thank you once again for reaching out to us.

Best wishes and take care,

Lydia

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k