Darren spent ten years in the British Army. He was wounded while on duty in Afghanistan when an IED blew up the truck he was travelling in. Darren spent a year recovering in hospital, but has always struggled badly with post-traumatic stress disorder. After a spell living rough, he got himself together again, found a partner and took a job as cook.
One day he was called home from work by the police. His girlfriend had taken a heroin overdose. She had never used the drug before. She died three months later. Distraught, Darren turned to drink and drugs. He served three years in prison after an assault.
Thanks to support from the shelter, Darren has been clean for two months. “When I’m tempted to drink now,” he says, “I think of this place, and what I owe them, and then I count to 100.”