A Stoke man who was addicted to drugs and controlled by others has started a new chapter thanks to a local charity.

George* is currently being supported by homelessness charity Concrete, through their Changing Futures project.

The 38-year-old, who has learning difficulties, was independently managing his own tenancy with Stoke-on-Trent City Council until last year.

When concerns arose about his wellbeing, he underwent a section 42 safeguarding assessment and was referred to Changing Futures. 

The project brings local organisations together from across Stoke-on-Trent to better support people with complex needs and multiple disadvantages including homelessness, substance misuse, poor mental health and domestic abuse.

Find out more about Concrete here: https://thisisconcrete.org.uk.

Concrete's Changing Futures Case Co-ordinator Charlotte Smedley works with vulnerable men across the city as part of the project and has been supporting George since September 2022.

Charlotte said: "About three years ago George was introduced to monkey dust.

"He had no history of substance misuse and quickly became addicted. He stopped looking after himself, rarely showered and barely ate. This prompted concerns of self-neglect.

"Alongside this, George was being coerced by drug dealers. They took advantage of his vulnerabilities and used his flat as their own. They followed him home and wouldn't leave. This caused disruption which led to his neighbours complaining.

"When he received his weekly benefit payments, they'd follow him to the cashpoint and leave him with just £50 a week for all his bills and food. He struggled financially and would have to beg and borrow from others, including his friends and family. This put a strain on relationships and caused them to break down. He was alone."

When Charlotte met George she supported him to leave his flat. It was no longer safe for him, so she secured new housing with a local provider. Here he receives support with everything from cooking and cleaning to budgeting and managing finances. 

George also started working with CDAS (Stoke-on-Trent Drug and Alcohol Service) to address his drug addiction. He worked on coping mechanisms and learned how to say no.

Concrete is part of Honeycomb Group, London Road, Stoke (Concrete).

"George now has some really good peer support in place," continued Charlotte.

 "He loves attending Expert Citizens coffee mornings and meeting new people. He's making new friends and really putting himself out there. He was taken advantage of before, so I'm working with him to recognise when this could happen again. He's also rebuilding relationships with his siblings.

"George has also been offered a voluntary role with Expert Citizens which he's absolutely over the moon about. He'll receive training on customer service, effective communication and learn how to build a good rapport with people. He'll also be taking a course to improve his literacy and can't wait to get started. 

"His biggest goal is to support others going through similar situations to what he went through. He wants to help them and show them that the road to recovery isn't scary – there's always hope.

"George is now well on the road to recovery and is enjoying all of the opportunities that Concrete and Changing Futures have given him."

Find out more about Concrete by visiting their website.

*Name changed and stock photo used to protect identity.

READ MORE: Convicted sex offender from Stoke jailed for repeatedly breaching Sexual Harm Prevention Order

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