In February 2011 we were very pleased to welcome Vicky Cheeseman to the SHOC team as our advocacy worker
What made this appointment so special for us is that Vicky has arrived in this key role after a long journey that involved some very tough times.
The journey took her from receiving support from SHOC as a client, through acting as a volunteer at Serena Hall and ending with Vicky joining the team as a staff member. As our advocacy worker Vicky now plays a crucial role in helping current clients tackle many of the same issues she has had to face.
After leaving school with 10 GCSEs and starting work Vicky found her life ruined by addiction to drugs and alcohol that made it hard to maintain relationships and saw run-ins with the police.
When Vicky came to SHOC she received support and advice in how to manage her drug addiction including a referral to Cascade where she received specialist help in getting and staying off hard drugs.
Later Vicky herself with support from Alcoholics Anonymous gave up alcohol.
With these issues behind her Vicky has given a lot back to help others both as secretary to a local AA group and as a volunteer and then staff member at SHOC.
We have benefited hugely from Vicky’s first hand appreciation of what it really takes to turn your life around.