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drinkanddrugsnews
| December 2014
Recovery |
Military veterans
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
I
met Peter and Simeon a few months ago, but both of them had been
known to me, as they were always to be seen street drinking and
sleeping rough in Liverpool City Centre. Peter had been on the streets for
nearly 12 years. He served in Northern Ireland, and on returning to
Liverpool after his eight years of military service, he felt like he never
fitted in – that no one understood him, and no one really wanted to. Where his
closest relationships had previously been with other squaddies, he soon found a
new relationship with alcohol.
Now 46 years old, Peter is finally having a crack at this thing called recovery.
The same for Simeon, 58, who has been homeless for nearly 20 years. Over the
years, many workers approached Simeon to chat about potential treatment
options, but were always met with a refusal. Albeit a polite and jovial refusal, it
was still a ‘no’. Asked why he finally agreed to go into detox and rehab he
answered, ‘Because this place is for military veterans, and the only time I felt like
I had a family was when I was in the army.’
Alcohol misuse has been an inescapable way of life for many who have served
in the armed forces. Alcohol has always been associated with rituals and
camaraderie and historically was seen as a means of managing difficult
situations out in the field – the so-called ‘rum ration’ in the Royal Navy was only
abolished in 1970. The levels of alcohol use and misuse during military service
often increase when personnel return to civilian life, amplifying its negative
effects both for men and women. It’s why we see so many ex-service personnel
within the criminal justice system, often for offences of drunkenness, fighting
and spousal abuse. In the health services we see increased hospital admissions
for poisoning, injury, dependency and addiction.
A member of the armed forces with a drinking problem is a major cause of
concern in the military. Once the problem has been identified, commanding
officers have to take action to correct it and this often leads to discharge,
contributing to the numbers of early service leavers. Misuse of prescription
medication and some illegal drugs are also on the increase, but there are very
few statistics on this as the Ministry of Defence has not been as responsive as,
for example, the USA Department of Defense. However, the MOD is working
hard to start shifting the drinking culture and looking at new ideas, such as dry
bars, coffee clubs and gaming and WiFi leisure activities on base. I have built up
links with army Colonel David Wheeler and we both recently attended an all-
party parliamentary group at Westminster, to discuss these issues raised by
Alcohol Concern to the minister for the armed forces, Anna Soubry MP.
As head of service in my previous job I noticed
that military veterans were not doing very well in
treatment. They seemed to have a lot of difficulty engaging in interpersonal
group therapy. Many got really agitated with some lines of enquiry made to
them by the so-called ‘civvies’ in the group, and some would not go anywhere
near expressing emotions.
One guy told us that he couldn’t share his experiences in the group because he
felt so ashamed of what he had been a part of when on a tour of duty in Northern
Ireland. Other non-military people had asked him if he had ever killed anyone,
and why he acted so aggressively against the Irish. Another described drinking a
bottle of vodka most nights to help him sleep, as he couldn’t remove the images
and smells from an incident he’d been involved in during a tour in Afghanistan.
Having become known in Liverpool for setting up UK firsts in the recovery
movement, I was contacted by Paula Gunn in early 2013. Paula, who had set up The
Bridge House abstinence-based housing project, wanted to create something for ex-
service personnel as she too had noticed a repeated pattern emerging through her
work. She was very persuasive and passionate in asking me to come and work with
her to lead on this new project and the result was Tom Harrison House (THH) – the
first military veteran specific addiction treatment centre in the UK.
Paula founded the charity and named it after her grandfather, Tom Harrison, a
naval man who served during World War II. She has now been 17 years in
recovery herself, but while in the grip of active addiction, she was comforted by
her grandfather who told her of his experiences in the navy and gave her stories
of hope and inspiration.
We set about gathering evidence of need for the centre. This proved to be an
arduous task, as there was no UK-based evidence on the benefits of a military-
specific treatment centre. So I looked to the USA, where far more research has
Military veterans do not tend to do well in traditional
treatment settings.
Jacquie Johnston-Lynch
explains how
Tom Harrison House is tackling the challenges head on
A fighting c
‘The only time I felt like
I had a family was when
I was in the army...’