"I always had problems when I was a child I couldn't talk I was so frustrated, my father was the same, he didn't talk much either; my mother said he had a terrible life, he was beaten alive by his mother and father.
My family were annoyed when I got addicted to drugs. In the end me ma asked me to leave.
When I was homeless I slept in an old school. I used to sneak back home in through the back door when my father left in the morning, I had a shower and got something to eat, I think he knew but he never said anything, he always left the back door open. When you're on drugs you're around people you don't like. Nobody trusted nobody. I took them because I was so quiet and I thought I was no good.
The drugs wrecked my head; I was always thinking what other people were thinking. Keltoi helped me with all that they're a detox centre. I knew if I was to get better it was better not to go back to home where all the gang were. Keltoi recommended me for this programme. So I moved in here to Focus Ireland, Scarlett is my key worker and I'm near all my meetings I go to Narcotics Anonymous If I'd stayed at home my ma would have tried to look after me but its my responsibility. I have to look after myself, they teach you that here, they teach you self-confidence and how to look after yourself. I pay my own bills, do my own cooking. They teach us all about keeping a home and what to expect as a tenant, I know I have family but if you're someone who doesn't, they really need the charge of that. I'm studying addiction skills; I want to become an outreach worker. I always hated school but now I actually enjoy it."
Brian is 28 years of age, he's had a drug problem since he was a teenager. He has recently undergone a period of rehabilitation and He's now taking part in Focus Ireland's Step-Down Programme - a programme for men and women who have undergone a period in drug rehabilitation. The Step-Down programme provides the skills and education required to enable participants to move-on to independent living.