p12 Day in/Events.qxd
29/10/04
8:36 pm
Page 12
Diary | community support worker
her on my house calls and then to sort out
some accommodation for the night. She
obliges. It’s good to take her mind off it.
That’s a lot of the job, dealing with clients’
crises. How can we expect people to
concentrate on recovery when they’re on the
streets or burdened with worry?
A day in the life of...
Dave Watkins
treatment agency
community
support worker
Tuesday 09.00 I walk in. As usual I hear the
shrieks of laughter from clients winding up
staff members, waves and smiles, the
timidity of a newcomer: eyes wide, panic
concealed by the drinking of an offered
coffee, but hanging in there, proof of the
power of our ‘open door’. Then there’s Sian:
sheepishly trying to get my attention, unsure
of my reaction to see her back again,
numerous detoxes and rehab attempts later.
I mockingly shake my finger at her, sighing
inside as I wonder what there is left to try
with her. I know this much though – never
give up, always go the extra mile, or the
extra hundred miles as it sometimes turns
out! People do get better. We have a quick
chat and she tells me her woes of the last
few weeks. She’s only been using a little bit,
just to get her through this difficult time…
she’s going to give treatment a real go this
time… she means it. Let’s wait and see I
think, almost chuckling at this latest tale of
excuses (she can be inventive I’ll give her
that!). But it’s not funny, people die and we
have to remember that. It’s so important to
be understanding, the illness is so devious
and complicated she really believes she
can’t live without that hit – or drink, tab,
rock, whatever, it’s got her in its grip.
10.00 I moan to the others as I see my in-
tray bulging. Funny really. When it’s empty I
worry what I’ve done wrong! Am I doing my
job well enough? Grab a quick caffeine fix
and up to the office. Phone calls: detox for
John, rehab for Mary, Housing Options for
12 | drinkanddrugsnews | 1 November 2004
Gareth. First port of call when I meet a
client… make sure they’re warm, fed and
have a place to go. Clients are usually very
chaotic so we need to put some structure
into their lives and make sure they receive
the benefits they are entitled to before
getting them into treatment. It’s like a game
of chess and the longer you do it the better
you get. Next form-filling, the bane of my
existence: DSS, DLA. Another phone call:
the gas board. Poor Julie, £2k gas bill
landed on her doormat. Enough to give
anyone a panic, especially as she was on a
meter! All sorted.
11.30 A call from my mate Larry in the cells,
David was picked up again last night. Drunk
and disorderly again. Out the door. In the
car. Down to the cells. He’s sorry, not sure
what happened, won’t happen again. Talk to
Larry, another court appearance for both of
us, but not today – I can take him home. The
importance of networking. We’re lucky here,
we all seem to sing off the same hymn
sheet – agency workers, social services,
probation, courts, hospitals, mental
hospitals, doctors, DSS, wet houses, dry
houses, local health board. If your approach
is right, people generally want to help not
hinder you. It’s so important to know that
you’ve got back-up.
13.00 Quickly drop into the centre before
starting house calls. Joanne’s there, been
kicked out of home and three months into
recovery is looking vulnerable. I offer to take
‘I mockingly
shake my
finger at her,
sighing inside
as I wonder
what there is
left to try with
her. I know this
much though –
never give up,
always go the
extra mile, or
the extra
hundred miles
as it sometimes
turns out!
People do get
better.’
13.30 We visit Mike, James and Sylvia and
take them to the allotments. I love the
DOMINO projects, the allotments, cookery,
guitar lessons. Clients in all stages of
recovery can meet, talk and have a laugh –
usually at my expense! This plays a huge
part in motivating them to enter treatment,
particularly when they’re in the stage of ‘I
know I’m looking for something but what am
I looking for?’ They meet others in similar
positions, make friends and encourage each
other – recovery is infectious and a huge
part of that is belonging. That’s one of the
most important parts of my job, just being
here to talk to. I mingle until I reach Amy. A
regular. ‘Not right’ lately. I’m worried. She
doesn’t want to talk. I don’t push her but tell
her to keep reminding herself why she
started coming to WGCADA in the first place
– she asked for help for a reason. It’s often
that reason that keeps people coming back
and going to treatment. Sometimes this is
all we can do, frustrating as it is, but I have
comfort in the little seed – plant a seed now
and it may germinate straight away or it may
take months or even years. But it can and
will germinate. We bundle into the car and I
drop them home, spirits high.
16.00 Phone calls looking for a place for
Joanne, best I can do is a B&B for the night
so I wait and settle her in.
17.00 Rush to Cefn Coed, good to see
Jenny more coherent after her psychosis.
Detox going well, glad to see me, ready for
treatment soon.
18.30 Back to the office, paperwork time.
Another caffeine fix. Exhaustion! I start
thinking about the day. Reliably chaotic,
another to follow no doubt! What keeps me
here? Madness! It’s a privilege really, people
enter your life and talk to you, you make
brilliant friends both staff and clients, and
it’s wonderful being part of a good
package… I’m only a small cog, but one of
many small cogs that turn the big machine,
and it does work.
Dave Watkins works at the West Glamorgan
Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse
(WGCADA), an abstinence based (12-step)
treatment centre in South Wales, that also
offers harm reduction services.
www.drinkanddrugs.net