Shane’s story
Over 2009, The Bridge supported a total of 49 people in their recovery; many coming to us straight from serving prison sentences or living rough on Birmingham’s streets. Most of these residents have now made huge progress towards living free from their addictions.
One such resident is Shane. Shane is 28 but he first got involved with drugs when he was just 15. His first prison sentence was when he was 17 and since then Shane has been in and out of prison for crimes committed to fund his addiction. The crimes worsened until he eventually got a five-year sentence for armed robbery. Whilst in prison, Shane realised he had lost everything because of his addiction.
He slowly started to rebuild relationships with his family and even gained access to his son again, but he knew that he would need a lot of help when he was released, as he had tried ‘going it alone’ on the previous 15 occasions.
Shane applied to The Bridge, had an interview and was accepted before his release, so he knew that he already had a place to go to. In his own words:
“I came here the same day I got released from prison and sitting here 5 months later has made me see that it was the best decision I ever made in my life…Not only is this a place where I get all the support I need, but it is also my home. The staff here are unbelievable and they really do go out of their way to support us…Without this chance it would’ve been inevitable that by now I would’ve either been back in prison, committing crime or even dead.”
Shane has now been at The Bridge for 9 months, has remained committed to his recovery and is looking to the next step of moving into a flat of his own.
