PLP came at the right time for Debbie

Debbie’s life changed after working through The Salvation Army’s Positive Lifestyle Program

When Debbie crashed her car while drink-driving, it was the culmination of years of feeling lost, broken and out-of-control since her divorce. At court, her solicitor suggested she contact The Salvation Army, where she was encouraged to do the Positive Lifestyle Program. She shares her story.

I was an absolute mess at the time of my car accident. It was like my whole life had just fallen apart. I was in my mid-40s and it was the first time I’d been on my own, as I’d been with my former husband since I was 17.

I was in a lot of emotional pain and I didn’t know how to get out of it. I’d been to see a psychologist and a psychiatrist – I basically spent a lot of money and a lot of time trying to get myself better, to get myself out of this situation. All I was doing was functioning. There was no life left in me and, at the time, I thought: “I don’t think anything will work”. 

Almost as a last resort, I did The Salvation Army’s Positive Lifestyle Program. It got me to look at myself, to really try to find some way of dealing with my problems and give me the tools to actually have a go.

The back-up from the chaplains and the people that run the program was wonderful. I can honestly say that the program is very, very effective. I felt at the end of the program that I could breathe. It was like someone taking that bag off your head and finally you could start breathing properly, a little bit better.

This is going back six years ago now. The Positive Lifestyle Program is not an overnight process. But I still have those chaplains and the people that were in my life six years ago still in my life now. Their encouragement and their support is ongoing every day.