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Help from heroin hell

More than 3,700 people in Hull have problems with class A drugs, but help is available

Danny Stocks

Danny Stocks (29) knows first hand how destructive heroin can be - not just to health, but to families and to society as a whole.
He was 18 when he started injecting the illegal drug also known as 'smack,' 'brown' and 'skag,' among other street names.
At 20 he started using crack - the highly addictive smoke-able form of cocaine.
He has spent four of the past 10 years serving various prison sentences for drug-related crimes including shoplifting to pay for drugs, motoring offences and theft of vehicles.
At the height of his addiction he was spending around £pound;30 per day on heroin and £pound;20 on crack (although some addicts in Hull are known to fund habits of up to £pound;100 per day through crime).
The effect on his family was severe. One close family member ran up a debt of £pound;2,000 to fund Danny's habit, rather than see him go shoplifting.
Even when able to pay his own way during several years working as a forklift truck driver, much of his weekly wage went on drugs.
He tried to keep his habit a secret from his long-term partner and mother of his son.
However, they eventually split up, leaving Danny to miss out on valuable 'quality time' with his young son, now aged 10.

Withdrawal

Danny, from Bransholme, now sees his son every weekend, and is slowly trying to put his life back together.
He's looking for a job and is trying to get his own flat so he can move out of hostel accommodation.
Since being released from prison in April this year, he has been on a new rehabilitation programme.
But it's not the first time he's tried to come off illegal drugs.
He also underwent two separate year-long residential rehabilitation programmes, one of which was in Birkenhead, Merseyside, well away from the influence of drug-using 'friends' in Hull.
Yet Danny is still hopeful that he can beat heroin withdrawal - the symptoms of which can include diarrhoea, stomach cramps, shaking and sweating.
"When I couldn't get a fix I'd be raging with anger, then in the next minute I'd be crying my eyes out," says Danny.
"But I want to get off drugs once and for all, for myself and for my son.
He's at the age where he needs me and he needs to know what his dad is doing.
"Eventually I'd like to give talks in schools.
I'd warn young kids and show them photos of abscesses people get from injecting, and of people who've lost their legs."

Rehabilitation

This time Danny's recovery is part of a Drug Rehabilitation Requirement (DRR), which is an order handed out by courts to addicts who commit crime to fund their drug habits, but who are willing to co-operate with treatment.
The DRR is being managed by the Humberside Probation Trust in close partnership with Compass Crossover, a drug rehabilitation day service in Hull's old town.
Not only does the service help recovering addicts find jobs and accommodation, but it offers psychological help such as coping with cravings and dealing with situations which can trigger a relapse.
There is also counselling to help raise self-esteem, classes in communication skills and IT, and alternative therapies such as acupuncture and Reiki.
"There are other people in the same boat as you and it's good to encourage each other and talk about our problems," adds Danny.

Help for addicts

Danny (right) with Phil Tuttle, his key worker at Compass Crossover

Compass Crossover is just one of a range of services in the city which have been set up to help those in the city who have problems with class A drugs.
Other services include: