By Luke, 33
Addiction is unfortunately familiar to many of Sustain’s tenants, but with the right support and housing they can start to take steps towards a better life. Tenant Luke tells us about his experiences before moving into a Sustain property and how his time with us is helping him find greater security and a route to overcoming his addiction.
Tackling addiction
I started living in HMOs (houses of multiple occupation) in 2014 when I had family problems and had to move out of my council flat into emergency accommodation.
I also have some serious health issues, including chest problems due to severe asthma, and I’ve been using drugs for most of my adult life.
After injuring my foot one time, I picked up a blood infection which had to be treated in hospital. During this hospital stay, the medical team started me on a regular methadone prescription to help wean me off drugs.
For the last five years I’ve been going to CGL (Change, Grow, Live), a drug and alcohol support service in Birmingham, which helps me with my methadone scripts. I pick up my medication daily from the chemist.
The first year of Covid lockdown was tough because CGL couldn’t do face-to-face meetings and I had no support. But now I’m gradually reducing my medication with CGL’s help.
Life before Sustain
Part of living in a supported housing HMO is receiving support from a professional, but in my previous HMOs, the support workers would often just ring us up and ask us to send a picture of the kitchen looking clean or something like that.
If they didn’t have to come round, they wouldn’t.
In my last house we saw something like five support workers within the space of six months, so you’re having to open up to them and tell them your life story and then you have to do it all again with the next one.
I lived with my dad in my previous house, and we were both just down and depressed. The property owners wouldn’t put the heating on. They were controlling it from their phones, and it would be freezing at night.
You couldn’t put the heating on or have hot water when you needed it, so the curtains were mouldy and there was condensation everywhere.
When I came here
My dad and I knew Sean, who already lived in this house, for about a year before we moved here. He let us know when the rooms became available, and we applied to move here.
Supported housing providers can be wary about family members living together, perhaps because they think it might cause arguments, but Keogh Properties, the housing provider that runs this house for Sustain, decided that it would be okay for both of us to live here.
My dad and I are more like friends, and we’ve got our own rooms, so we have our own space, and I’ve been less stressed since I’ve lived in this house, more laid back.
As soon as I got here, Sharon my support worker helped me sort out new doctors closer to here, and she gives me a lift to CGL sometimes and even helps me sort out my benefits.
Sharon comes every day to see us. On a Friday she will call or text and ask if everyone is okay and if anything is needed, toilet rolls and stuff like that.
If we’re running low on food, then she will offer to take us to the food bank. A lot of the time I will get the bus, but other times Sharon will take us.
I love living here
I love living here. I used to live a few miles away where there are more shared houses, so if you’re trying to get off drugs, even going to the chemist can be a problem as you can bump into people.
You’ve got people knocking on your door all the time. There’s that temptation with drugs and everything that goes with them. There are a lot of people to bump into and you can’t get away from them.
Now I’ve cut off all my old friends. I’ve cut off everyone, I don’t go out much anymore, while I’m trying to get better.
Round here I can walk around comfortably. It’s nice and quiet around here.
In this house you can leave your room door open and feel safe. You can leave your stuff in the fridge without other people cooking it.
My dad is a really good cook, to chef standard. I do the cleaning because I would rather do it myself and do it properly. I said to my dad that as long as he does all the cooking, I don’t mind doing the cleaning.
The vibe is better here. I think everything is more comfortable, I feel more secure.
Luke is one of 1,800 people across the West Midlands housed and supported by specialist housing provider Sustain UK.
If you recognise some of the issues in this article and are facing homelessness, you can find out about applying for a tenancy with Sustain at our ‘Who is Eligible?’ page: https://sustainuk.org/how-to-apply/who-is-eligible/
You can contact us by phone on 0121 428 2221 or at [email protected]