LIFE: THE FORMER ADDICT NOW SPENDING HIS DAYS HELPING THE HUNGRY
Former drug addict Mick Hanley has turned hislife around andis now helping to feed South Yorkshire’ s hungry. Hugh Venables reports.
MICK HANLEY is 52, happily married and lives with his wife Julie in Stocksbridge. He spends his days helping others. But from the age of 13, for 25 years, Mick was a drug abuser, addicted to alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine. His future looked bleak.
By his early 20s, Mick’s life had fallen apart and for eight years he lived on the streets in the north of England.
“It was a constant fight for survival,” he says. “Every day I lived in fear of attack, always watching my back, just existing from one day to the next. I lived a chaotic existence with the focus on trying to stay warm, stay fed and find somewhere safe to sleep. It was a battle just to stay alive.”
It was Bolton drugs worker, Phil, who helped turn Mick’s life around.
“Without Phil I wouldn’t be here to tell my story,” he says. Back in 2008, Phil encouraged Mick who was living in hostels then, to go on a detox programme and arranged for him to spend a month in a rehab centre in Manchester. He moved on to Storth Oaks in Sheffield where he spend eight months. “There were relapses, but thanks to the support of Phil and the team there I started to see the potential for a better life.”
In 2009, while volunteering in the kitchens at The Cathedral Archer Project in the city Mick met assistant cook, Julie. They married in 2015 and Mick now has a loving family - four step children and four step grandchildren.
A part- time church caretaker, he also works for four days each week distributing food to foodbanks from the Sheffield S6 warehouse. As he helps unload another pallet of food delivered by the South Yorkshire charity programme, Rotary4foodbanks, he says: “It makes me so proud to be with a team of such wonderful people. I am honoured to be a part of it. I love every minute of the work I do.”
Demand for services has rocketed since the pandemic hit. Mick says the supplies donated by Rotary4foodbanks have provided a lifeline during lockdown. The R4FB group, run by Rotarians, buys food at wholesale prices and distributes
it free to organisations like Sheffield S6 who in turn deliver it to foodbanks across the region.
Mick expects the problem of hunger in the city to get worse in the coming months.
“I have experienced firsthand the real suffering which hardship and hunger can bring
to individuals and families. I am determined, along with others in the team, to make sure that no- one in our region goes hungry this autumn and winter. I implore anyone who can, to give money and time to support our efforts.”
And Mick has this advice for
to others who find themselves in the same position he was in, when he was younger.
“Don’t be in denial. Admit you have a problem. Most importantly, surround yourself with positive people. Then look to help others. It is so lifeaffirming,” he says.
Mick works for Sheffield S6 which is part of the Trussell Trust.
Rotary4foodbanks is run entirely by unpaid volunteers. It supplies food to over 50 foodbanks across South Yorkshire and the East Midlands and has a just giving page for those wanting to support its work.
Rotary4foodbanks is a Rotary response to the growing demands on foodbanks in the UK. Initially operating in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire, it is attracting
interest from Rotary across the UK. Whilst it was launched in response to the Covid crisis, it is actually a long- term initiative to deliver a sustainable, cost- effective food sourcing programme for foodbanks.
Foodbanks are anticipating a minimum 40 percent increase in demand for emergency food as thousands of people lose their jobs or face reduced incomes, which mean they cannot afford to eat. Several are already reporting at least a doubling in demand. This comes at a time when our food banks were already stretched to the limit; in 2019 they supplied 1,808,949 emergency food supplies, a year on year increase of 20 per cent.
The scheme uses the economies of scale and the national reputation of the Rotary to buy food and other vital items at wholesale prices. It works with a network of Rotary clubs, logistics companies and foodbank organizations to distribute this food to where it is needed.
The scheme is dependent on offering food manufacturers and top- level food distributors the ability to supply and/ or donate food to a single source that they are confident will distribute for the benefit of the intended beneficiaries. It takes an organization with the reputation of Rotary to offer this.
The scheme is run entirely by unpaid volunteers from Rotary Clubs. It is supported by companies and individuals who also give their time and expertise free of charge. All funds donated go directly towards providing for some of the most needy in our community.
Rotary International’s only charity, The Rotary Foundation, and individual Rotary clubs are providing an initial £ 100,000 to get the scheme underway.
More corporate and individual sponsors are required. The team is preparing a crowd funding initiative and actively seeking national and local government funding support.
Foodbanks themselves are already using Rotary4foodbanks’ buying power to maximise the value of their own resources – making their own limited funds stretch further. The first three months of operation will see over £ 100,000 of food distributed to those in need in the East Midlands and Yorkshire.
www.justgiving.com/ campaign/ rotary4foodbanks
I don’t want anyone in our region to go hungry, I know what it’s like Mick Hanley who has turned his life around after being a homeless drug addict