‘I WAS SUICIDAL AND HOPELESS WHEN I CAME HERE, BUT WHAT I HAVE FOUND IS HOPE’

FORMER church minister Darren Howie, aged 47, came to Walk struggling with alcohol addiction and is now employed by the charity as a support worker. A former heroin addict and ex-prisoner, he’s originally from Scotland but was living in Derby when he came to Stoke-on-trent – and has now made the city his home. “Lockdown nearly killed me. I was working for a charity and running a business but my marriage broke down and I relapsed back into alcohol addiction. I tried to commit suicide and my wife didn’t know how to cope. “I already knew Simon Edwards and David Crowther (chief executive and operations manager of Walk) and I reached out to them and said I needed help. I handed in my notice at work and gave away my business, and two days later I was here.

“I was completely broken and they gave me a safe place to reflect, where I could do some work on my emotions and begin the healing process. The first two weeks was a battle and there was a lot of pain.

“I felt a lot of shame and grief but I have had coaching to regulate my emotions. I’ve learned a lot about myself. If you define yourself by your work, what happens to you when it goes? I felt like the rug had been ripped out from under me.

“I had lost everything but Walk is a safe place to struggle. When people see potential in you and you know they believe in you, you can start to believe in yourself. We all have skills and talents that we can use. “Coming here has given me a healthy balance that I have never had in my life. I have close friends that I can share things with. Walk is a sanctuary – and it’s my family.

“I was profoundly suicidal and hopeless when I came here, but what I have found is hope. My story is not finished.”