Jade Jones – winner of the human rights award for free expression 2021

“I’ve only ever buried myself in addiction. The way my life was I didn’t want to be here anymore. I’d had enough. I’d tried to take my own life in the past and it was getting to the stage where I was going to do it again, but luckily, I changed social workers and through that I found out about Shared Lives. Then Helen took me in, and my life changed. I’m loving life now, It’s lovely to wake up in the morning not ill from my addiction and having things to look forward to.

I’m from the Valleys, and I needed a fresh start in a new area – somewhere people didn’t know me. I’d been taken advantage of and judged by people back home. But through Shared Lives I’ve met people who want me for me, and not what they can get out of me.

I’m not perfect, I do have days where I struggle and I want to drink more, but I’m finding ways to get through it and distract myself. If I feel like I want a drink I go out for a ride on my bike or go up to the horses. It’s baby steps, but I know I can do it.

I never in a million years thought I’d get to ride a horse, but Helen’s teaching me to ride and I really enjoy it. I’m not the most natural of riders, so I’m still at the trotting stage, but being with the horses is really good for my anxiety. I love animals, and maybe in the future I can get a voluntary job with the RSPCA or something similar. I don’t know exactly what I want to do, but being able to think about the future, and have choices, is a new experience for me.

My mental health is stable. In fact, I’m doing so well that my social worker isn’t my social worker anymore. I’ve got Helen now, so I said to my social worker, there’s another Jade out there that needs you, so you can help them like you helped me.

Social Worker Claire Woolford, adds, “Jade’s early life was traumatic and chaotic. There was a lack of stable relationships and trust which carried through to adulthood. As a result Jade experienced a long period of addiction to substances. Jade identifies that her substance misuse use was largely for self medication purposes as she had limited ability to regulate her emotional responses and unhealthy coping mechanisms. This in turn led to antisocial behavior and Jade being perceived in a negative way by her peers, which was distressing for her.

With the support of multi-agency professionals Jade has been able to slowly withdraw from substance use and has been working hard to enhance her recovery by engaging with professionals and writing poetry.

When Jade identified that she was ready to look for accommodation where she could feel a sense of security, belonging and purpose, as well as appropriate support to continue her recovery. I made a referral was made to the South East Wales Shared Lives Health Initiative with information about Jade’s background, current needs and associated risks. Lengthy discussions were held between the scheme, Jade and Social Workers to look at how these risks could be safely managed in a way that best supports Jade and any potential carer in an outcome focused way.

The South East Wales scheme found a suitable, busy carer household was identified and positive introductions were undertaken via Teams. Jade was able to communicate that she would like to become involved in voluntary work, education and training and needed to be kept busy as much as possible.

‘Jade is now thriving with Helen and Shared Lives. Jade was initially calling me up to 10 times per day and had built a strong dependency. This has now reduced to once or twice a week and is usually to share stories or photographs of her escapades with Helen!

Congratulations Jade! Keep going and enjoying life!