'I got in the backseat of a friend's car and my life changed forever'

A man's life changed forever after he got into the passenger seat of a car. James O’Reilly, from Everton, was in the backseat of his friend’s car when the driver crashed and caused the vehicle to flip.

The 42-year-old, now living in Tuebrook, hit his head and fell into a coma for a week. Two decades on and the dad-of-four is still feeling the pain of the crash, but now recognises how he should have never put himself in that position in the first place.

He told the ECHO: “It’s been twenty years since the crash and I still deal with the impact of it. My concentration, memory and speech are all wrecked. The crash happened and I didn’t wake up for seven days. We were all using drugs and drinking when it happened.”

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James told his story from inside 1 Step Recovery on Country Road. The new Walton recovery hub centre has helped James to turn his life around to become sober and clean - with the dad saying he “looked back once”.

James said the car crash injuries were just a few of many he endured while being a heroin and cocaine addict. He said: “I failed rehab many times. I was using constantly for years. I was into every and any class As. It was a real struggle most days. I have these thoughts and voices in my head that I cannot control sometimes.

"I’ve failed lots in life and everyone still expects me to go back to my old ways. But I don’t want to fail anymore, especially not for my daughters. I’m continuing on this track until I can be in the position of becoming a full-time dad.”

1 Step Recovery has been providing supported living accommodations and assistance for people like James, with substance misuse issues for five years now. The charity was created by Lyn Eaton and came about after the mum-of-one noticed gaps in care and felt like she could provide a more rounded service.

Lyn is hoping to help more people around Merseyside - whether that be through mental health support or working closely with social services to reunite children with their parents. The 48-year-old, from West Derby, said: “Externally things are just getting worse, unfortunately. We have the capacity for 57 people but some weeks, we have 10 to 15 people wanting to get in. It’s really bad.

“You can’t keep up with the demand and at times it’s heart-breaking. You have to decide between two desperate people. Some days, you have to determine who is more fitting for that one bed and who is in the position to say that someone’s husband or son is more worthy than someone else's?

“We never have spare beds going. Most times the minute that person in the accommodation is packing their things to leave, someone is waiting on that couch waiting for that bed. Addiction shouldn’t define who you are. We always see addiction as being the overall thing but it’s not - it’s the end product. Most times it is a generational thing and people turn to drink and drugs to deal with past traumas as a learnt behaviour.”