John'S Story
John is a distinguished former Royal Marine who served for six years with honour in Kosovo and Afghanistan before facing his toughest battle after leaving the military. John proved to be an exceptional soldier but left the RM when he and his childhood sweetheart decided to get married.
For John though the transition to civilian life didn’t come easily and resulted in a rapid decline in his mental wellbeing. Sadly, his marriage faltered, he drank too much and he was unable to hold down a job.
Struggling to adapt
For 20 years, John was trapped in a cycle of depression and substance misuse until, in 2020, he attempted suicide. He was referred to alcohol recovery services and then to Walking With The Wounded for support with homelessness. We found him a place to live and supplied the deposit for his new home.
John then engaged with the recovery services, and Op COURAGE, making the courageous decision to enter rehabilitation. The £34,000 cost of his treatment was secured by WWTW alongside a daily allowance for food and it was during this pivotal time that John was referred to Garry for employment support.
A fresh start
Together, Garry and John discussed possible future employment plans and worked on his CV. Garry researched job opportunities, leading to John’s first job: following his successful rehab, John attended an intensive five-day employment preparation course. Just five days after completing rehabilitation John secured the role.
John re-married in 2023, and his new wife was pivotal in his rehabilitation. He admits that he still has work to do, such as building bridges with his children, but he is enjoying being back at work and forging a future. Ian is extremely grateful for the support that he has received from WWTW and says that if it was not for them, he would simply not be here.
His journey exemplifies the power of specialised support and the remarkable resilience of veterans when given the right opportunities.
‘Garry at WWTW is a great bloke. He kept in contact with me all the way through rehab and afterwards too. On top of the rehabilitation costs, he found me the extra funding for all my food whilst I was there - without it I would have had to leave the programme and abandon my recovery. Garry and the teams at WWTW went above and beyond to help me. They helped to save me, and it is good to be back.’
Royal Marine veteran and WWTW beneficiary
Footnote: This veteran's name has been changed to protect their identity.
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