Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Rehab unit named after tragic star is her lasting legacy
PLAGUED for years by her drug and alcohol demons, Amy Winehouse’s tragic death sent shockwaves around the globe.
But thanks to Amy’s Place, a recovery house for women aged 18 to 30 overcoming drug and alcohol addiction set up in her name, her legacy lives on.
The centre has given dozens of young women struggling with substance abuse a future.
On the 10-year anniversary of Amy’s death from alcohol poisoning, the Sunday Mirror visited Amy’s Place to meet the women she has helped.
A calm hub amid the bustle of East London, Amy’s Place provides a home for up to 16 women, with 12 self-contained apartments along with communal areas, including a peaceful garden.
With framed pictures of the singing sensation and even a dedicated music room to inspire and teach the residents, Amy’s creative spirit imbues every room.
Rachel Geary, 50, who has worked at Amy’s Place since it opened five years ago, says the star’s legacy is “unbelievable”. Like Amy, Rachel, who now works as a recovery project manager at the centre, battled her own drug and alcohol addictions.
She says: “I feel incredibly privileged to work here. Amy has undoubtedly helped to save these women’s lives – without this place, I don’t know what they’d have done.”
Rachel first went into rehab six years ago, after reaching rock bottom when her cocaine and alcohol dependency left her in hospital.
“I went into a three-week detox and lasted 45 minutes. I got to the train station and bought vodka,” she said.
“It got progressively worse. I had a seizure. My partner Jason, who I’ve been with for 14 years, said it was the scariest thing he had ever seen in his life because he thought I had died.
“In the ambulance I didn’t even know who Jason was, I told the paramedics he was the gardener, I was so out of it. I’ve never had a gardener.
“This was 2015 and eventually through my social worker, doctor and Jason I got into rehab.”
Rachel also credits Amy’s Place for having a huge impact on her journey to sobriety.
Melissa Rice, 33, is another women Amy’s Place has helped to save.
The former primary school teacher, originally from Liverpool, descended into alcoholism for six painful years before she embarked on her long road to recovery. She had her last drink in 2017. “The Amy Winehouse Foundation putting me up in a flat where I could live with other women fresh out of treatment who needed a safe place to live to rebuild their lives was one of the biggest steps to my new life,” she says.
Melissa, who is a trustee of the foundation, adds: “People often mistakenly think once you’re clean, you’re recovered and that is almost never the case.
“There is nothing like Amy’s Place anywhere else in the country and there is a huge lack of support to meet the needs of women.
“Without Amy’s Place, I am certain I wouldn’t be here today.
“We urgently need more services in this country, especially for women, that bridge the gap between rehab and recovery.”
Support worker Michelle Christiaens, 29, adds: “People think you go to rehab and that’s it. Unfortunately, that’s just not how it works. When women come here, they have a sense of safety and space to discover what they like.
“I always compare us to a trampoline – the women are in the middle and they can jump up, they can try new things and experiment, and if they fall we’re always there to bounce them back up.”