REAL LIFE: The day John's life turned around

John, a 33-year-old man with an eight-year addiction to heroin, is on a different kind of high today; a high that stems from new roots of stability in his life. The stability of his accommodation at the Norwich YMCA, and the support from YMCA staff and family, has contributed to a completely new sense of hope for the future.

A recent meeting with the Archbishop of York to put the case for young people who have fallen into homelessness and crime has given him a sense of his own power of articulation and a thirst for changing society's perceptions of people like him. But his journey is far from over.

John was born in Norwich. His was a close family: mum and dad, two older brothers and a sister. "I was really close to my older brother. We lived together for a number of years. We got on brilliantly, even after I left his place and moved in with my girlfriend," he said.

It was shortly after this that John's life turned upside down, when his brother died in a tragic accident. "I blamed myself for what happened," says John. "If only I hadn't moved out. I realise now that it wasn't my fault, but at the time I just couldn't cope with it."

At 25 years old, filled with grief, pain and remorse, John was extremely vulnerable. He drank to blot it all out, and started taking heroin, though for a while he managed to keep up his job as a tree surgeon. Wasn't that a little dangerous? "You may laugh, but that's cos people think addicts are out of it all the time. Most of the time, you're using simply to stay well, to stay straight, and yes, to be OK up a tree with a chain-saw."

After a number of years of addiction, his family life had deteriorated to the point that his girlfriend had no choice but to kick him out. Homeless and rootless, John stayed round at friends' in a fog of booze and heroin, but something prompted him to try and get sorted, and his family were ready to help in any way they could.

"I tried a couple of treatments but they just didn't work for me. My other brother was brilliant. He even took me through cold turkey. He locked me in his flat for weeks, and finally I was clean for the first time in years. But when I got out, I went straight back on the heroin. My mum took it the worst. She let me home, but I lied to her all the time, told her I was clean when I wasn't. She kept finding needles and paraphernalia in my room," said John, shaking his head in disbelief at himself. "No mum should have to go through that."

The family got wise to him, and John found himself on the streets again. Sleeping rough for three months in cars and at mates', he felt himself to be truly at rock bottom. Then a mate who was living at the YMCA suggested he try and get a room there. They had a place for him within a week. Despite the state of his mind at that time, John recalls the date perfectly; "It was 26/6/06," he says, with some emotion. "The day my life turned around."

The week he arrived, a support worker at the YMCA suggested he get help from The Matthew Project, a drug and alcohol counselling service in Norwich, and got him an appointment that afternoon.

"You have to show up ill. They monitor your habit for three days," said John. "I needed 90ml of methadone to maintain. Today, a year later, that's down to 50ml." Now his addiction is stabilised and he is looking forward to moving on to his own place in a couple of months.

He's been doing a few college courses and has been on day trips, and learned to express his views. "There are endless opportunities here," he says. He enjoyed meeting the Archbishop of York. "It was great to be able to explain to someone in a position of influence why some young people end up doing what we do."

"I couldn't have got through this ordeal without the full support of the YMCA. I have always been listened to by YMCA support staff and fully supported in all my plans to return to independent living. My family has also stood by me. Not all young people get this and I feel very fortunate to have their help as well as from the YMCA."

"The YMCA has been fantastic to me. If you want to make a go of it, they'll back you 100%."

Pictured above is John.