December 2010: Open Hands, Coventry
With Adam*, part-time Housing Officer and former resident
Open Hands provides residential accommodation, counseling and support for men with chronic drink problems. Adam, who is now the project’s part-time Housing Officer, spent two years as a resident as he battled addiction to alcohol.
Open Hands was started by three recovered alcoholics, who saw a need for a place to treat vulnerably housed or homeless men with serious alcohol addiction problems. Their experiences had shown them that unless recovering alcoholics have a stable, supportive environment around them, many end up back with their drinking friends, and end up drinking again themselves.
John*, one of the founders, describes the motivation behind Open Hands: ‘It’s basic on-the-streets Christianity, isn’t it? You’re helping the poor and the disadvantaged. I’ve been there myself, so I know exactly where it is. I was asked recently “You must do this because you’re an alcoholic?” And I said, “actually, I do it because I believe in Christ – I just happen to know about alcoholism.” Guys come in with no spare clothes, no family and no hope. The only thing we can offer is ourselves and our own experience of recovery, which comes from God.’
Open Hands works from a former Catholic clergy house in a residential street, and can house up to 18 men at a time. Most stay for around a year whilst they undergo treatment, which includes regular Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and counseling; some whose drinking results in more serious medical conditions also go through detox or a course of prescribed treatment. For many, Open Hands is a literally a lifeline; some residents arrive close to death with alcohol-related chronic illnesses.
Adam arrived at Open Hands after several years of heavy drinking, which had lead to him becoming homeless, unemployed and estranged from most of his family. His addiction to alcohol was so severe that he needed to drink as soon as he woke up. ‘I couldn’t stop drinking,’ Adam told us. ‘I wanted to but I didn’t know how to. It was horrible. Just this deep depression; this empty, lonely feeling all the time.’ Adam was referred to Open Hands through the local Community Alcohol Service; after two years at the project, he has now recovered and is working as Open Hands’ part time Housing Officer, managing the project’s move-on accommodation, a role is funded by Church Urban Fund.
Open Hands features in our Christmas Resources, which you can download for free or request from us by calling 0207 898 1667.
*We have withheld Adam and John's full names to protect their privacy.
