David's Freedom Story

David was a former real estate agent from a privileged background with money, nice clothes, multiple Sydney properties and a $2000 a day heroin addiction.

At the age of 20, David was offered drugs for the first time. He accepted.

“At first I thought I was bulletproof. Then I went on a real slide with heroin addiction, travelling around the world trying to maintain the habit and then just coming back to Australia with this huge habit,” he remembers.

After selling all his properties to a drug dealer to fund his habit, he was out of money, so he turned to stealing.

“I felt a bit angry towards my parents that they wouldn't give me any more money and so I actually went to my mother’s safe and took out $20,000 worth of jewellery and hocked it. Well I hocked it for $20,000, it was probably worth a lot more money than that...

“I was thinking, 'well as soon as this money goes ... I'm going to commit suicide and that will be the end of it.' That’s how despairing I was.”

In desperation his parents called the police to arrest him to try and save him. He ended up in court with the choice of going to Sydney’s Long Bay Goal or The Salvation Army for rehabilitation. He chose The Salvation Army.

“I was one of the people who had the opportunity to go to this Salvation Army farm. From there, my life changed," he says.

The road to recovery

David detoxed at The Salvation Army’s William Booth House in Sydney, and later went to Miracle Haven on the NSW Central Coast for his recovery. He experienced such a massive life change that 15 years later he himself became the manager of Miracle Haven, after being a Salvation Army officer.

“It was hard work! It was much easier being a client at Miracle Haven in lots of ways than being the manager,” he says. “But it was certainly a great privilege and the four and a half years that I ministered there with my wife were wonderful years. We saw some great things happen with people, and many changed lives”.

In early 2013, The Salvation Army closed its Miracle Haven recovery services facility and moved clients to the new Dooralong Transformation Centre.

By Katherine Franks

Photo Caption: Major David Twivey (right) with a client on graduation

Photo supplied by Major David Twivey