FAMILY SUPPORT
THE PRESENT OF A
A
Imagine a very
different version
of this year’s
festivities.
Liam Ward
finds out what it
means to spend
Christmas in
rehab
roaring fire, a table
laid with a lavish
roast dinner, a tree
groaning under the
weight of decorations
– a glowing backdrop to the family
gathering. However your Christmas
looks, what’s certain is that you’re
never missing from the picture.
The reality of Christmas for
people in residential rehabilitation
can often be quite different.
Spending this time of year away
from families and loved ones
can be difficult. Harder still is
the prospect of reframing what
Christmas means to you if your
memories are dominated by
negative experiences of drugs
or alcohol. Across our sites in
Sheffield, Wirral, Glasgow and
at our National Specialist Family
Service, we need to ensure that
every single person in our care this
Christmas is supported through
this challenging period.
22 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • DEC 2019-JAN 2020
THREE WISE MEN
I recently talked to three of our
graduates from the Sheffield
Residential Service about their
experiences of Christmas.
Luke and Robert had spent
Christmas 2017 with us and Jake
had been here in 2018 (names have
been changed). Before they entered
treatment, all three associated the
festive period with being in the
company of family, but for each of
them it had become a grudging
duty. A time of celebration for others
had, for them, become a hinderance
to their substance use.
Robert comes from a family
where Christmas means parties,
socialising and honouring traditions.
‘In my family, from Christmas Eve
onwards, there always seems to
be a party at somebody’s house,’
he said. ‘All the men in my family
have always gone to the pub on
Christmas Day. They still do that
‘All the men in
my family have
always gone to the
pub on Christmas
day. They still do
that now... That
tradition is one
of the hardest
ones. I don’t know
if I’d be able to do
that now.’
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