Recovery was the Christmas gift

“I was 49 years old and I knew if I didn’t get it right this time I believed – and I really did – that I was going to die.” – Garry

For most people, being in a rehabilitation centre at Christmas would be the last place they’d want to be. But for Garry – who was seven weeks into his second attempt at recovery from an alcohol addiction – it was vital to his recovery. So when he was told his rehabilitation centre would close for two weeks over Christmas time, he was distraught.

“I couldn’t trust myself,” he says.

Garry had tried rehab the year before and had relapsed the moment he got home. He asked the centre he was at if there was any option for him to remain in residential recovery over the Christmas period. While that option was out of the question, the solution they offered turned out to be the best Christmas gift of Garry’s whole life.

“The lady [at the rehab centre] got me in touch with this Recovery Services place that’s run by The Salvation Army,” he says. “The Salvation Army saved my life.”

A sobering reality

Christmas 2017 was a very different one for Garry. He was sober.

“My memories of past Christmases when I was drunk are just a blur,” he says. “I don’t remember much… [My family] have seen a lot of stuff they shouldn’t have.”

After losing two marriages due to his addiction, Garry finally lost his job.

“I used to go to work drunk. I used to drink at work. I used to have alcohol in the car, and I used to sneak out and have a drink,” he says. “I couldn’t live without it.”

One of his good mates, who had always stood by him, told Garry one day that he would be dead before he reached the age of 48. Although he did make it to that age he knew deep down, that an early grave was where he was headed.

The best Christmas gift

Spending Christmas at The Salvation Army’s Recovery Services Centre, sober, free and safe from temptation, was the best Christmas gift Garry had ever had. And it was the start of a life-changing transformation.

“I slowly learned to take responsibility,” he says. “Before, when I was in my addiction, I had no responsibility. I was blaming everyone else. [At the recovery centre] I got better every day.”

After staying at the centre for almost a year, Garry spent a few months living at a Salvation Army transitional housing accommodation service. This kept him connected with his counsellors and supported until he felt strong enough to return home. The first thing Garry did after that was go to the Salvos.

Giving back

“I’ve never gone without because of the Salvos, which is a blessing,” he says. “Even when I was in addiction they helped me out a lot too [with grocery vouchers and food hampers].”

Garry has recently been sworn in as a Salvation Army soldier and now has his own place.

“I’m also doing 15 hours a week paid work with The Salvation Army’s Family Store, driving the truck, picking up donations and doing deliveries,” he says.

Garry says the feeling of freedom he continues to experience from not having to satisfy his addiction is amazing. He has made new friends and reconnected with old ones.

“I’ve got a mate. I’ve known him since I was about 16 years old and he’s never drunk. And he’s always been there for me. Even when I was intoxicated, he was still there for me,” says Garry.

“He actually drove me to detox and then when I came home, he came and picked me up. Now I spend a lot of time with him, because I know he doesn’t drink. He loves it. He said to me, ‘I’m so happy [for you]!’”

Garry is looking forward to more sober Christmases and reconnecting with his family.

He hopes to undertake further study in the community services sector so he can give back to others, just as The Salvation Army has given so much to him. But he’ll never forget the best Christmas gift he ever received – when he got to spend Christmas Day at a Salvation Army Recovery Services Centre.