Cheshire & Greater Manchester CRC
5th Floor, Oakland House,
Talbot Road, Manchester, M16 0PQ
Telephone
03000 479 000
Fax
03000 479 149
Email
contactcgm@manchester.probation.gsi.gov.uk
CASE
STUDY 27
NEIL BACK FROM THE BRINK
December 2014
CASE
STUDY 27
27
FREE FROM DRUGS
STRUGGLING to cope with his mum’s terminal
illness, Neil Absalom injected amphetamine
in the hospital toilets to numb his pain.
Neil was bullied at school for being “chubby”, but
found that by playing up and committing petty
crime he could earn respect from his pals.
The 39-year-old committed crime to feed his drugs
habit. He had become a paranoid recluse who
barely washed and whose life was punctuated by
suicide attempts, crime and court appearances.
Neil said: “I thought I was the Godfather Don Corleone,
but my conscience always pricked me.”
Neil was unable to see a way out of the chronic drug
abuse and depression that plagued his life.
But with the help of probation, Neil has now managed to kick
his habit, has successfully completed his Community Sentence
and is embracing a new life beyond his wildest dreams.
He said: “I want my story published because I was so bad,
in such a mess, that it might strike a chord with someone in
trouble. They might think ‘if even Neil can quit, so can I’.
“I never thought I’d sort myself out, I couldn’t have done it on
my own. But the help is out there if you are willing to accept it.
“My only regret is that mum didn’t live to see me clean.”
Neil says three things saved his life: probation, Acorn (a
recovery and rehabilitation charity) and Narcotics Anonymous.
He was supervised on a string of Community Orders
by probation services officer Carl Duddridge, who is
based at the Cheshire & Greater Manchester Community
Rehabilitation Company’s Bridge Street office, in Oldham.
Neil said: “I was lucky to have Carl. When I first met him I
was hysterical and didn’t know what to do and played up.
Neil carried out a robbery armed with a knife before calling
the police to confess that he’d done it because he couldn’t
stomach the guilt. He served three years in jail for the crime.
He said: “Prison terrified me.”
After release and losing his job as a youth
worker Neil became a recluse.
He said: “I wanted to stop the drugs but didn’t know how. I
kept all the curtains and blinds shut, and would literally
crawl around my own house for fear of what was outside.
“I think people should know where drugs can take you. I robbed
a knife from a store, slashed my wrist. The blood congealed. I
slashed my leg. The blood congealed. Then I slashed my belly.
“I was doing crime to fund the drugs and getting closer to a
second jail sentence. I couldn’t cope with that thought.”
Carl encouraged Neil to confront his drug problem
by enrolling him on RAMP (Reduction and Motivation
Programme), which helps addicts quit. Magistrates
agreed to make RAMP a requirement of Neil’s order.
Carl said: “When I first met Neil we thought one of
his suicide attempts would be successful.
“But he wanted to help me. At times I looked quite poorly,
I wasn’t eating, and he gave me food vouchers.”
“So to see where he is now, and to have attended
his Acorn graduation ceremony, makes me
immensely proud of his achievements.”
Neil’s lowest moment occurred as his
mum lay dying in hospital.
Neil said: “I wake up, brush my teeth, put on clean clothes.
I pay my rent. I play badminton. I buy my own food.
He said: “I didn’t like the feeling that I couldn’t help her. I had
a needle with me at the hospital and went to the toilets to dig.
“When people like me say, ‘we can help you get a better
life’, it’s not like we can promise a Maserati, but getting
the simple things together makes a massive difference.
“Not even my mum’s illness was enough to make me stop.”
Neil believes he always had an addictive personality.
“Now I think, with help, I can achieve what I want, and that’s to
be a sports coach encouraging young people to get into sport.”
He said: “I recognise now that I am an addict,
my drug of choice is simply ‘more’.”
“The help is out there if you
are willing to accept it.”