Never in her "wildest dreams" could Lynsey Brownless imagine walking down the street sober a few years ago.
But now, she's giving lectures to students at Liverpool John Moores and Hope University, and is about to start a degree in adult nursing herself. It's from inside a shop on County Road in Walton that people like Lynsey are turning their lives around.
The premises are home to AP Coaching and Mentoring Academy CIC, which has helped over 200 people to stay clean from drug and alcohol addiction and go on to build a life for themselves.
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Angela Preston started the academy three years ago, which she now runs with the help of a team of coaches, project managers, students and volunteers. Having watched a member of her own family suffer from addiction, Angela set out to bridge the gap between other recovery and support services in the city with the launch of a ten week accredited personal development programme.
Angela, 54, told the ECHO: "Addiction can hit anyone at all, my life is torn apart by it. This city is horrendous for drugs.
"I didn't want other families to go through what we've gone through and I thought surely there's more that needs to be done here."
Many of the people who have taken part in the academy's programmes have already gone through rehab or treatment centres and are looking for direction with the next stage of their recovery. Each person is asked to set a goal at the start of the programme, from getting back into work or education to volunteering, which they can then work towards during the following ten weeks.
Lynsey, Joanne and Phil, returned to County Road this week to speak to the ECHO about how their lives were torn apart by addiction and how Angela's programmes have given them hope for a brighter future.
"I felt like an empty soul"
Lynsey, 48, from Vauxhall, turned to alcohol as a coping mechanism while suffering from depression and borderline personality disorder until it left her feeling suicidal. Lynsey told the ECHO addiction "destroyed everything in my life. It took everything from me.
"It took my sanity. It takes everything until you become empty. I felt like an empty soul.
"I had no purpose in my life, I lost my purpose for being here and I didn't know what to do. When I started losing things the depression came in and the sadness. I needed something to numb that pain.
"I couldn't live with my emotions and the person I was. My mental health deteriorated through losing people in my family, losing my father and debts in my family, and then one thing led to another."
The 48-year-old mum said she had tried to seek help with her mental health previously, but she was let down by different services over the years. She said: "My turning point was obviously I wanted to turn my life around. My life was unmanageable and I had nothing going in my life.
"I had no structure, I'd lost all of my responsibilities. I needed to change."
"My life is just unbelievable"
After 18 weeks in rehab in 2020, Lynsey came across Angela's book Opening Doors, which led her to the next stage of her recovery. From there, she moved into Safe Space Initiative - a recovery hub and supported living house run by Angela, before starting the academy's personal development programme.
Lynsey said: "I believe it was a divine intervention and without a doubt it was a divine intervention that started me on the path [to recovery]. In this year since I've been in safe space, I've done a diploma in adult nursing, I've got 21 certificates.
"Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be walking down the street sober for a start. It's just unbelievable. I'm driving, I've got myself a car, honest to god my life is just unbelievable. "
Lynsey now gives lectures to social work students at Liverpool Hope University and Liverpool John Moores University to help them know how to handle different situations when they go out on placements in the community. She is also due to start a degree in adult nursing and wants to become a motivational speaker in the future.
"It's like a volcano has erupted once I put anything in my body"
Sitting beside Lynsey is Joanne, 39, from Scotland Road, who has also seen first hand the devastating impact addiction can have. Joanne, who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, first smoked cannabis at the age of 13, and later turned to cocaine and alcohol.
Joanne told the ECHO: "I started off with the cannabis but it's a progressive illness and once you're in that cycle the only option is jails, institutions and death. Unless you're on the path and you want to surrender and you have the right people around you.
"When I'd drink alcohol I'd drink it to blackout. That's one of the reasons I do not drink today, to make amends to society because that's a different person I'd turn into.
"It's like a volcano has erupted once I put anything in my body, so I choose not to do that today. Today I choose to be happy and you can see that we are happy people."
Joanne has been clean from drugs and alcohol for over three years now, following two stints in rehab before she moved into supported housing. She has since been able to half the medication for her PTSD and has completed a degree and a range of different courses.
She is now hoping to start her own business in aesthetics and get a home of her own.
"It's the missing jigsaw piece"
Joanne described the programmes offered by Angela and her team on County Road as the "missing jigsaw piece" that people need during recovery.
She said: "Coming on this course, and connecting with Angela and everyone, and getting really honest, it's given me confidence to better myself. It's given me the confidence, the courage and the support.
"We show people that you don't have to suffer alone, you come here and better yourself."
Joanne's words were echoed by Phil, 46, from Mossley Hill, who is now volunteering at AP Coaching and Mentoring Academy to help people who are going through similar situations.
Phil first started smoking cannabis on a daily basis from leaving school at the age of 16, up until he was 42. During this time, he also took a range of different drugs, from cocaine to ecstasy and alcohol, while grappling with an addiction to fruit machines.
At the age of 25, Phil lost a family member, who was also suffering from addiction, to suicide and admitted to his parents that he was an addict himself. Despite his admission, Phil said he didn't want to do anything about his addiction at that time and carried on taking drugs and alcohol for the next 17 years.
"I was trying to change the direction of my recovery, I got a bit lost"
Phil said: "I got myself into where I was drinking everyday. I've always worked but I've always done the wrong thing while I've worked there. I was lying, I was thieving, I wasn't very nice."
Phil said he was stealing to feed his addiction, which also had a ripple affect on his relationships with his family until it got to a point where he didn't want to be alive anymore. After being admitted to the Royal Liverpool Hospital, Phil went to rehab twice before moving into supported living accommodation.
When he started the personal development programme at AP Coaching and Mentoring Academy last September, Phil said: "I was trying to change the direction of my recovery, I got a bit lost.
"I knew what I wanted to do I just didn't know how to get there. This course has shown me how to get there and that it's not all just straight lines, it can veer off to the left or the right or wherever.
"What's massive with this is it gives you the direction. A lot of people who come out of treatment, when they get lost they'll pick up again and they'll only do it ten times heavier than what they started anyway."
"I'm just over three years clean"
In the three years that he's been clean from drugs and alcohol, Phil has turned his life around and is now helping others as a volunteer at Angela's academy.
Phil said: "The course has helped me no end, it's given me a bit of direction in my life that now I know what I want to do and I'm going to do it. There's nothing getting in my way now I know that.
"I'm just over three years clean and the change from me now to what I was then, it's a complete change but I don't lose my sense of humour - it's going nowhere."
Angela is beaming with pride as she looks around the room at Lynsey, Joanne and Phil as they share the progress they have made over the last few years.
Angela said: "If I can help one person to feel ten foot tall, in my heart I know I'm leaving this world a better place for others to be able to build a life that they deserve. Every single one of us deserves a chance and no matter what has gone on in someone's life, I'd like to think that we've played a little, small part in helping them to get back what they've lost."
AP Coaching and Mentoring Academy is now also holding an out-of-hours service from 5-7pm on Mondays and Tuesdays at 96 County Road in Walton. The service is available for people at any stage of their recovery with the aim of providing a listening ear and sign posting people to the appropriate support.
For more information on the services available click here.
Helplines and support groups
- Samaritans (116 123) operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year. If you prefer to write down how you're feeling, or if you're worried about being overheard on the phone, you can email Samaritans at jo@samaritans.org.
- Childline (0800 1111) runs a helpline for children and young people in the UK. Calls are free and the number won't show up on your phone bill.
- PAPYRUS (0800 068 41 41) is an organisation supporting teenagers and young adults who are feeling suicidal.
- Mind (0300 123 3393) is a charity based in England providing advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding.
- Students Against Depression is a website for students who are depressed, have a low mood or are having suicidal thoughts.
- Bullying UK is a website for both children and adults affected by bullying.
- Young Persons Advisory Service – Providing mental health and emotional wellbeing services for Liverpool’s children, young people and families. tel: 0151 707 1025 email: support@ypas.org.uk
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