The Road to Recovery - Kelly's Story

Many events in Kelly’s childhood years led her to try drugs and alcohol at a young age. Kelly started to experiment with cannabis, alcohol and LSD as a coping mechanism. She loved the numbness of not feeling and the emotional pain went away.

At 18 Kelly suffered the loss of a child leading to her drug and alcohol use escalating. Her ups and downs with substance abuse continued but also included periods of abstinence during the birth of two more children. Then in 2016, Kelly decided to get clean and reach out to the Basement Recovery Project.

Feeling broken emotionally and physically, and despite her distrust of people, she attended all the groups she could at The Basement Project. Kelly was introduced to mutual aid, volunteering, and positive recovery.

Kelly's recovery journey with the Basement Project included participating in regular physical activity sessions. Taking part in these weekly activities has helped Kelly become part of the recovery community with the support of her peers. It has also improved her physical and mental wellbeing by giving her a focus.

"I stopped running, I can talk now, I understand that the abuse I suffered isn’t normal, I have grieved and have my girls back in my life."

Kelly - Basement Project attendee

Kelly continues to give back to her recovery community and has recently passed a Level 2 course in Personal Training. She now shares her knowledge by facilitating gym sessions at The Basement Project and enjoys encouraging others to reach their physical and mental health goals. She has also gone from being a participant to leading the couch to 5k group. Aspiring to continue her personal development with a level 3 in PT Training, Kelly believes everyone can achieve their goals and dreams.

As proof of this, her epilepsy has now gone, and she is now progressing with a new career in drug and alcohol recovery services and learning to drive. Summing up how far she has come on her difficult journey, Kelly says “I love walking, the gym and LIFE."

If you would like to share your active journey with us, please contact Active Calderdale via activecalderdale@calderdale.gov.uk.