Recovering alcoholic from Chorley who "would have died" if he kept drinking to set up third addiction centre in Preston

SMART which stands for Self Management And Recovery Training is something he never thought possible for himself and, as the ghosts of Christmas past echo his thoughts, remembering his own admission that he would have "died if he kept on drinking", he is grateful to now be in a place where he can help others by drawing on his own experience of fighting back and taking control of his life. Sober for over two years, he now runs two addiction centres - one at watchUSgrow community hub on Gillibrand Street and the other, which opened earlier this month, at Clayton Brook Community Centre just in time for Christmas.

Steve found himself between a rock and a hard place with the every day pressures of life and started using alcohol every night as a release which soon spiralled. The turning point for him came when his friend came to visit him one day and the pair put an action plan together, including Steve volunteering at a local drugs and alcohol service and decided that his future was within addiction services. Wanting to give something back to the people of Chorley who helped him find his feet again, Steve qualified to facilitate the recovery groups by hiring a room to run his sessions, with the help of former drug addict Andrea Horrocks who set up the charitable organisation four years ago.

He said: "I am in recovery from addiction which has taken me through three residential rehabs none of which workedI was a functioning alcoholic. I used to hide alcohol in my car, at home, in Lucozade bottles as they were wrapped in a full label so you couldn't see it. I'd eat mints and chew gum all day. I was living in Preston at the time and was isolating myself and wasn't engaging in groups. I then moved back to Chorley where I started SMART Recovery as a facilitator. I run two groups in Chorley which continue to grow and is very popular as we are getting 40 plus people each week.

"I only started SMART Recovery Chorley in May 2022 and it has gone from strength to strength. That is why, with the help and support of Mags Burrett at Emerging Futures, we wanted to open SMART Recovery Clayton Brook before Christmas as this time of year should be a happy time and something to look forward to, but for people who are struggling with their addictions and their families it can be very stressful and full of temptation. Having gone through it myself I wanted to deliver SMART to show people that recovery is possible for everybody and that it is socially acceptable.

"We will be running the groups once a week at Clayton Brook Community Centre, every Friday from 11am until 12.30pm. We just talk recovery and help people and talk about how they are feeling and their thoughts and just give them hope through SMART's 14 point recovery program and show them that there is support around the Christmas period and there are people who care."

He added: "I am so pleased to announce I will be opening a third SMART Recovery Group in Preston in the New Year. I have always wanted to share my life stories with others, in the hope, that I can provide them with inspiration to stay on the right path. It is my time now to help others recover from their addictions. I would like to raise awareness of the help available to people who are in recovery from addictions like myself and to let them know that there is support out there. It's a fantastic way of showing people that recovery is achievable."

If you are struggling with addiction and need someone to talk you can drop into the centre without an appointment.