AT his lowest point, Paul Mackrill was drinking up to three litres of vodka a day.

Drinking was the first thing he thought about when he woke up, and was usually the last thing he was doing when he went to sleep.

Paul’s alcohol addiction caused his weight to plummet and left him in constant pain.

He had to use crutches to walk, and was in and out of hospital with alcohol-related conditions.

It was while he was at Bradford Royal Infirmary on a detox programme that he met a specialist alcohol worker with ACIST, Horton Housing’s Alcohol Crisis Intervention Support Team.

Part of the Bradford housing organisation’s Substance Support Team, ACIST provides community-based support for people with alcohol use problems, referred by the BRI’s Alcohol Care Team.

With help from ACIST, Paul moved into accommodation and has re-built his life.

“I’d be dead now if I hadn’t had anywhere to go after hospital,” says Paul, 43, who has a daughter and two stepsons.

“I’d lost everything. My partner didn’t want me around because of the drinking. I’m a barber by trade but I couldn’t work in the state I was in, I had nowhere to go and was self-destructing.”

Paul started drinking heavily in his early 20s. Drug use later took hold, then when he came off drugs, aged 26, he “went straight on to alcohol”.

“I thought I had the drink under control at first, but it soon escalated,” he says. “I was having a drink just to feel normal. Drink became more important than anything, even the kids.

“I’d drink anything, but mainly wine and vodka. I drank two to three litres of vodka daily and was getting through 200 alcohol units a week, I was drinking through the night and day.

“I had the shakes.

“I was hospitalised with cirrhosis of the liver and my weight went down to seven stone.

“I got hepatitis and my skin turned yellow. I had pains down my side and couldn’t stand up, I had to use crutches to get about.

“But I carried on drinking.”

Paul’s life started to turn around when ACIST got involved. “They gave me counselling and put structure into my life,” he says. “They found me somewhere to live and helped me sort things out like money and organising proper meals.

“I’d been in and out of hospital all the time and whenever I came out I just started drinking again. I was in danger of doing that again, but they (ACIST) gave me a lot of support.

“I started going to Alcoholics Anonymous and group meetings which was a massive help. You learn to re-structure the way you think. It’s accepting life without drinking.”

Paul adds: “Sometimes it hits you months down the line. You’re doing okay, and you think you can control it, but there are always temptations.

“Alcohol is everywhere – it’s on TV all the time, on adverts, soaps and films, and leading up to Christmas it was all about the party season. If I drink, I can’t stop. It’s still a battle.”

Paul now works as a mentor, helping others with alcohol problems.

“I’ve pulled my life back together, I’m seeing my daughter again, I go to the gym. I’ve finished Level 2 in health and social care and am working towards becoming a social worker,” he says. “As a mentor, I understand what people are going through because I’ve been there.

“Paul’s been a mentor to me, he’s inspired me,” he adds, referring to Paul Leach, the ACIST specialist alcohol worker who visited him in hospital.

The team provides immediate help for people with alcohol problems – getting them accommodation, initially in a Horton Housing communal living building, and on to an addiction recovery programme.

“Often an addict will see a doctor and is then back on the streets drinking again. It’s a vicious cycle,” says Paul Leach.

“Having somewhere to live comes first.”

ACIST was set up and Paul says over the past six months there has been a significant drop in frequent hospital attendance by people with alcohol addiction.

This year is the 30th anniversary of Horton Housing, which aims to meet the housing and support needs of socially excluded and vulnerable people.

The Substance Support Team’s services include a drop-in at Bradford Day Shelter, a migration impact team, supporting people from Central and Eastern Europe, street outreach, and community-based support for people with drug and alcohol use problems.

For more about the Substance Support Team call (01274) 320782.

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