By the age of 12, Richard Hall was already living a life of crime. The Wiganer spent his first six years being raised by his parents, who were addicted to heroin.
He says he witnessed regular violence in his home before his mum died. Yet Richard faced further physical and mental abuse after entering the care system, and before he had become a teenager, he was drinking and taking drugs.
It was the traumatic start that would set Richard on a path to self-destruction. But after being saved from a motorway bridge, the war veteran has turned his life around, the Liverpool Echo reports.
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As a youngster, one of his brothers joined the army and his other brother sadly took his own life. Richard remained in Wigan where he went down a very dark and dangerous path of crime, drink and drugs.
He said: “People talk about having difficult upbringings but mine was as difficult as they come. I don’t remember a lot as I have blanked a lot of it out, but it was horrific.
"Looking back, I clearly took drink and drugs to escape and this remained a theme for most of my life until recently.” The dad followed his older brother and joined the army, but this also turned out to be a traumatic experience.
Richard was based at the infamous Deepcut Barracks, where some soldiers suffered from mental health issues and others died at the barracks. He inevitably left, fearing he would take his own life if he stayed.
After leaving the army, Richard delved deep back into a life of drink and drugs, before it all finally became to a head and he found himself on a motorway bridge. Fortunately, two policemen managed to pull him to safety and he spent two months in a secure unit.
Richard added: “By that time I had met a partner and had two children but I was living a lie - I was drinking and taking drugs daily, even during my driving job. I was just constantly searching for an escape.
"It all became too much and that’s what led me to that bridge - I will forever be grateful to those policemen who saved me that day.” In 2022, Richard hit rock bottom again and lost his driving job.
He also resorted to living out of his van. Richard became desperate and after being failed by veterans organisations he reached out to, he ended up having a breakdown and was found in the A&E unit of a local hospital after he made an attempt on his own life.
But Richard was saved thanks to a veterans organisation in Liverpool. The Block CIC, based in Walton, intervened after Richard appeared at the hospital and helped turn his life around.
The Block is a grassroots CIC that bridges the gap and offers veterans support, emergency accommodation, coffee mornings, drop ins, signposting, workshops, courses, retreats and more. Since forming in November 2020, they have helped countless veterans.
The Block’s Colin Eastaway, a special forces veteran who runs The Block alongside Peter McCombe and a team of volunteers, provided Richard with accommodation, food, electricity, a phone, support and signposting. Ran by veterans for veterans, The Block offered Richard a safe haven surrounded by people who understood and cared.
Richard said: “My life was an endless cycle of self destruction and trauma - leading to states of crisis. After that last incident in July 2022, NHS Op Courage referred me to The Block in Liverpool and it’s the best thing that’s happened to me in my life.
"I will forever be indebted to Colin and the team.” Despite this new lease of life and securing a new job, Richard soon turned to drink and drugs again - hiding it from Colin and the team until an incident which left him hospitalised for three weeks made it impossible to.
He said: "The Block gave me a fresh start but the drink and drugs still had the better of me. That incident at Christmas was a blessing in disguise, as Colin referred me to Tom Harrison House on January 31, where I’ve just completed my 12 week programme.
"I’ve been clean for months now and I’m in the best place I’ve ever been in my life.” Richard added: “I’m lucky to still be here and it’s thanks to Colin, The Block and Tom Harrison House that I still am.
"I have turned my life around massively and the 12 week programme at Tom Harrison House has helped me address deep rooted issues and completely re-program my beliefs, thoughts and triggers. It’s been a hard process and it’s ongoing but I finally feel free to be the best version of me I can be.”
Richard is now planning to do mentoring and counselling courses so that he can help others, as well as volunteering at The Block to help fellow veterans. Feeling 'born again', he is now engaging in things such as cycling, hiking and fishing as opposed to drink, drugs and self-sabotage.
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