Police Officer’s Scheme Helping to
Prevent Addiction Relapse
By Dr.Fourkan Ali
Addiction relapse is one of the biggest fears of those in
recovery. The thoughts of returning to their addictive behaviour is often enough
to keep these individuals on the straight and narrow, but unfortunately, the
memory of how bad addiction was can fade over time. This often results in some
people convincing themselves that maybe it would be okay for them to have ‘just
one’ drink or fix.
There are many triggers for addiction relapse,
including loneliness, anger, frustration and boredom. Many recovering addicts
become disillusioned with their recovery, and unless they learn how to fill
their time, they may find that sobriety is unfulfilling. This often leads to
reminiscing the times when they were ‘having fun’ drinking or taking drugs.
Most of these individuals conveniently forget the reasons they wanted to get
sober in the first place.
Preventing Addiction Relapse by Staying Busy
Those with experience of addiction or dealing
with those who have struggled with addiction will know the importance of
staying busy during recovery. Police sergeant Stephen Hodgkins knows all too
well how boredom and lack of motivation can cause recovering addicts to suffer
an addiction relapse.
It is for this reason he set up a programme to
help recovering addicts and former criminals stay busy by learning a trade. His
Jobs, Friends & Houses (JFH) programme gives men and women the chance to do
something positive with their lives once they have been released from prison or
completed a programme of rehabilitation.
Breaking the Cycle of Addiction
Hodgkins set up JFH to break the cycle of
addiction and re-offending that he had witnessed time and again. He decided that
something needed to be done, and his answer to the problem was to give former
addicts and criminals jobs. The idea behind the programme is that those
involved will renovate derelict homes in the town of Blackpool, where the
project is based.
Not only have the lives of so many people been
changed for the better but so too has the town. Blackpool is seeing the
benefits of helping these individuals to avoid addiction relapse and a return
to criminal ways. The town is now safer and cleaner, and the entire community
is reaping the rewards.
Hodgkins said, “It frustrated me we were
seeing the same people again and again in custody. As a country, we don’t
believe in locking people up and throwing away the key. But in effect, that’s
what we do because we don’t rehabilitate people.”
Stigma of Addiction and Prison
There is still an enormous amount of stigma
attached to both addiction and prison, and those who are affected often find
that they are discriminated against. With many others unwilling to give these
individuals a second chance, former addicts and criminals usually find it
difficult to get work. This can have a huge impact and can often lead them
right back where they started – with no prospects and no chance of a new,
improved life. It is no surprise that addiction relapse and re-offending occur
on a regular basis.
Hodgkins believes that this stigma often
leaves former criminals and addicts struggling to make new lives. He developed
JFH in a bid to provide support and to reduce crime. Those involved in the programme
learn lots of new skills, and many of them are given apprenticeships in various
trades such as joinery, plumbing and plastering. Once a property has been
renovated, those in recovery are given the option to rent it.
Huge Success
The programme has taken on 48 people so far,
and it has been a huge success, with re-offending rates cut by 94.1 per cent.
The scheme has also been evaluated in terms of the money the taxpayer has saved
as a result, and it was found to be more than £800,000. The evaluation took
into account things like the cost to the health service, police costs, and
court costs.
Hodgkins said, “Addiction is a recurring
disease. And if you’ve got that disease you are shunned in a lot of places.
That only feeds your addiction.”
He believes that the only way to prevent
addiction relapse and to break the downward spiral into addiction once more is
to boost self-esteem. The programme does just that by giving people the
opportunity to work and contribute to the renovation of a place that they might
be able to call home.
A New Chance at Life
Sam Lowry is one of those helped by JFH. Just
four years ago, he was told he would die if he did not stop drinking. He was
homeless, and said about that time, “I’d written myself off at 25. I felt as if
I’d failed at everything. It’s been the end of a recurring nightmare.”
Now at the age of 29, he has prospects and is
happy working as a decorator.
Hodgkins believes that his scheme can make a
change to the lives of so many people, adding, “This is an amazing town to work
in because you can make a difference.”
He also pointed out that those working in the
scheme have plenty to reflect on, saying, “This team have created a certain
number of victims in their lifetimes. We remember and respect those victims.
Part of respecting those victims is stopping the repeat cycle of offending, so
that people in Blackpool have safer streets.”
Keeping busy during recovery is essential in
terms of preventing addiction relapse. The JFH programme is doing a fantastic
job of keeping both recovering addicts and former criminals on the straight and
narrow.
Source:
How a cop’s rehab
scheme gives offenders and addicts the chance to build a better life withoutaddiction relapse (Mirror)
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