From 13 years in prison to saving lives: Shropshire man uses lived experience of alcohol and drugs, homelessness and mental health to help others

A local man who spent more than 13 years in and out of the prison system is transforming his life experience into a beacon of hope for others. Wes Dixon, 38, who struggled with severe ADHD, childhood arrests, and years of alcohol and drug use, is now celebrating two years as a volunteer with the Shropshire Recovery Partnership, delivered by charity WithYou.

Today, Wes has set his sights on becoming a full member of staff with the Recovery Partnership, and to go into schools to educate children on the realities of drugs and alcohol.

Diagnosed with ADHD in 1993, Wes struggled to cope with mainstream education. By the age of nine, he had begun smoking cannabis, leading to his first arrest at just ten years old. After being excluded from high school, his life became even harder when he stopped taking his ADHD medication at 16.

“That's when I went downhill," Wes recalls. "I was getting arrested three, four times a week." By 18 he was using cocaine, leading to homelessness, and a 13-and-a-half-year cycle of repeat prison sentences driven by alcohol and drugs. "Addiction is a 24-hour job, and it's tiring,” he says.

The key turning point came after his daughter was born in 2014, and Wes received a severe warning that if he continued down the path he was on, he wouldn’t see her until she was 18. Upon his release from prison in August 2017, his probation officer arranged an immediate assessment with a treatment provider.

"He said, 'How much do you want this?' I said, 'I want it 100%. I need it,'" Wes remembers. "I got on my hands and knees and broke down in tears."

He was offered a bed that same day, and completed eight months of intensive counselling and therapy before transitioning into supported housing and securing a job.

Wes maintained his recovery for three and a half years, met his partner, and started a family. But in 2021, his grandfather died. Wes started drinking again, and within minutes he was using cocaine. "I thought, because I was still working, I'll be alright," he says. He kept it hidden, and his use went from weekends to every day.

When his dad then died a year later, he went into what he describes as a "full-blown" relapse lasting seven and a half months, and he lost care of his children. However, Wes bravely reached out to the Shropshire Recovery Partnership and successfully completed a 14-day medical detox in July 2023.

Since completing detox, Wes has volunteered with the service for more than two years, using his lived experience to mentor and support clients walking the same path he once travelled.

"I've been there. I know how you feel," says Wes. "I can help someone who's actually been in the same boat as me."

He has seen the change in himself too. "When I first went into recovery, I couldn't speak in a group. I couldn't sit still. I couldn't speak properly. But now my confidence is 100%."

Looking forward, Wes aims to get a paid role at the service, and focus on youth outreach. "I want to go into schools and talk about crime and addiction, as somebody who's been there, who's got lived experience," he says.

His message to anyone who needs support but hasn't asked for it yet is simple. "Reach out. Don't be scared. It can be the difference between life and death."

About WithYou in Shropshire

WithYou is a leading drug, alcohol and mental health charity operating across England and Scotland. Each year we work with more than 100,000 people in over 80 locations, providing a free and confidential service without judgement to adults and young people experiencing issues with drugs, alcohol or mental health.

We have main bases in Shrewsbury, Oswestry and Ludlow, and also deliver satellite clinics in Wem, Whitchurch, Market Drayton, Bridgnorth, Shifnal and Ellesmere, and provide services from other community locations and from where people are based (home visits and rough sleeper outreach). If you need help, call us on 01743 294 700, or visit our website, where you can speak to a trained recovery worker via our webchat wearewithyou.org.uk/local-hubs/shropshire-recovery-partnership