Before going into treatment, life was difficult; I had a poor relationship with my mum, I wasn’t being present for my children, and my mental and physical health were suffering.
Jenny* shares her recovery journey through Spark. *Not real name.
Going through treatment with Spark was life-changing for me. I was given tools to make positive changes that have not only had an amazing impact on my life but also on those around me. I got to look at some underlying issues I never would have addressed, which, although I thought were buried, played a massive part in how I behaved as a person and an undeniable part in my addiction.
In the Dependency, Emotional, Attachment Programme (DEAP) group, we did a lot of in-depth self-work, which was massively beneficial. Then, towards the end of the programme, we looked at what we wanted to achieve for the future, as well as goals and how we can achieve them.
During DEAP, I was supported not only in group, but out of group and provided with a variety of extra support and connections revolved around recovery, which were not only fun, educational and interesting, but helped massively in my recovery, and building up those important connections, also giving me insight to what’s available in the recovery community.
I accessed the FAMA minibus on Tuesday nights, attending mutual aid meetings. I was nervous about going to mutual aid meetings alone, not knowing anyone, so going in the minibus with others I met in the group was very helpful and eased my nerves. We went to the Roots monthly forum as a group, which helped by hearing lived experience stories and gaining knowledge of other services available.
On a Friday, there is a maintenance group for people who have attended DEAP in the past and present; sometimes, guest speakers came in to share what’s available in the community. One Friday, people from the 180 project came in and spoke about what they do and what’s available. Another day in group, we visited the TIME project, which is unfortunately is no longer running, but was based at the Thomas Soup Kitchen, it was a really informative session which we all agreed we enjoyed and got something out of. Everything combined, the in-group self-work, then the outside activities, all contributed to a positive, life-changing, informative experience.
DEAP gave me tools to be able to live a normal, drug-free life, which is completely different from the life I was living before. With those changes, I’ve been able to build back up family connections, been able to be a present parent for my children and enjoy living, not just existing.
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DEAP is the community rehab programme provided by Spark, delivered by a qualified Acorn Counsellor. This is for people who have achieved abstinence and are motivated to sustain long term recovery. This explores addiction at a personal level and supports people to deal with unresolved issues.
Since completing DEAP with Spark BwD, Jenny’s journey hasn’t stopped. After wanting to give something back to the service and community that had supported them, she moved on to volunteering within the service.
Over time, this led to paid employment with us, a step that illustrates just how far she has come. Alongside this, she established and continue to run a group for parents with children, working in partnership with a local church to provide a crèche while parents attend. This service was not previously available in the borough and is another strong example of the positive impact she has had on both the service and the wider community.
Feedback from people accessing the service highlights the positive impact of the support they received from Jenny. They describe feeling treated with professionalism, reliability and a non‑judgemental approach, which helped them feel safe and respected. Service users particularly valued the openness and honesty shared through lived experience, noting that this helped them feel understood and gave them hope for their own recovery. Overall, the support provided was experienced as meaningful, encouraging and supportive.
Jenny’s journey from DEAP graduate to volunteer and then into work with Spark is something she should be incredibly proud of, and it’s a really positive example of what’s possible with the right support in place.