Joe's Story
From Survival to Stability: My Eight Months That Changed Everything
If you’d met me a year ago, you’d have seen someone who looked like he had things handled. I was what people call a high-functioning alcoholic. I held things together - until I didn’t.
For over twenty years, alcohol was in the background of everything. In the last couple of years it stopped being background noise and became dangerous. I ended up in hospital more than once. Just before Christmas, I was admitted again and while I was there, I was evicted.
In mid-January, I was offered a place with Green Pastures. I’ll be honest: I was sceptical. If I’d said no, I’d have been classed as intentionally homeless by the council. So I said yes.
I’m glad I did.
A Place That Felt Safe
From the moment I walked in, it was fantastic. I felt very much at home. I felt safe. It was a feeling I hadn’t known for years. The house was dry, the welcome was genuine, and I found myself living with people who, like me, carried complicated stories - addiction, health issues, prison - but were there to move forward.
There was structure again. People knew my name. Staff cared. And there were always practical things happening: activities, courses, conversations that mattered. I started to connect with others and with myself.
The Penny-Drop Moment
In February, my key worker put me on an Intuitive Thinking course. It explained some of the brain chemistry behind addiction. Oddly, it wasn’t the ambulances or the hospital beds that changed me, it was understanding. That course was my penny-drop moment.
Being in a dry house removed the immediate temptation. Understanding why cravings happen helped me ride them out. And knowing I was in a place designed for people who genuinely want to get better made it easier to do the right thing.
Help That Looks Like Hope
One of the biggest surprises at Green Pastures was how practical the support is. Real life gets messy—benefits, relocation for work, rules that seem to change depending on who you ask. Staff helped me cut through speculation and get to what the rules actually are. That reduced so much anxiety.
I used to take everything on myself until it crushed me. At Green Pastures I learned that “a problem shared is a problem halved.” Sharing didn’t make me weak; it made me free.
Eight Months Sober—and a New Direction
Today, I’m eight months sober. That’s the longest period of my adult life. The only time I got close before was just under four months while serving in Afghanistan. I was a daily drinker for two decades; now the desire is gone. I enjoy sobriety more than I ever enjoyed the last twenty years.
Next week, I start a paid job in recovery services as an ambassador for ITS. I’ll learn the programme, train volunteer ambassadors, help with courses, handle admin, and build connections across Derby, especially in areas that aren’t well represented in recovery. I want to help people who feel the way I felt eight months ago.
I’ve had an unusual career path—military engineering on aircraft, then international contracting, time in the US, Middle East, Belgium. I even turned down a new rail job recently that paid over three times more than this role. Why? Because now I want to do work that matters.
What Green Pastures Gave Me
Green Pastures didn’t just give me a bed. It gave me:
- Safety and a place to belong
- Structure and a dry environment
- Understanding through the Intuitive Thinking course
- Practical help with benefits and relocation
- People who cared enough to see the best in me—even when I couldn’t
I’m convinced that without Green Pastures I’d be back in hospital by now. Instead, I’m planning a future I didn’t think I’d have.
If you’re at the start of this journey—or not sure you can start at all—know this: change is possible. Sometimes you need a safe place, honest conversations, and people who won’t give up on you. That’s what I found.
Green Pastures changed my life. I’d recommend it to anyone who needs what I needed: a chance to feel safe, get honest, and start again.