17 June 2026
34 year old Arron Henery from Middlesborough spent eight years serving in the Royal Navy as a Weapons Engineer working on submarines. Towards the end of his service, Arron began using cocaine to help cope with challenges he was experiencing with his mental health.
Once he left the military, Arron began using cannabis: “It calmed me down. It made me forget how hard it was leaving the armed forces.”
Arron joined the prison service but the initial sense of belonging disappeared and he began using cocaine heavily before his mum and best friend decided to intervene. He left the prison service and enjoyed other roles for a while.
Unfortunately Arron experienced relationship struggles within his family and after meeting a new partner, he began using drugs again - particularly cocaine. Tragically in 2022, Arron got news of a cancer diagnosis for his mother and turned to cocaine to cope with the stress, finding himself using in places and at times he never expected:
I used drugs as I thought it was helping me to be more confident or be able to open up and talk but I also knew that it wasn’t.
“I was still able to find excuses to continue using, that it wasn’t my fault, that I was normal. I upped my use and myself, and my partner were spending £100-£200 per day. I felt that I had lost everything, family, friends. I didn’t understand how or what was going on.”
Arron felt that his relationship with his partner was not healthy after noticing subtle behaviours leaving Arron feeling scared, anxious and living in an unsafe environment with a son in a fractured relationship:
“Around Christmas time in 2024 thanks to family and friends I finally started to see that my marriage wasn’t quite right, I didn’t know who I was anymore when I looked in the mirror I didn’t see me, I didn’t see the proud respectful man that joined the armed forces all those years ago. And it was also confirmed by a family member that sort of intervened and asked me if I was being abused. The question threw me, and my response was to say,
Don’t be stupid, I’m a bloke — I can’t be abused.” I was blind to it.
After seeking support from WithYou and Harbour as part of the THRIVE partnership in Redcar and Cleveland, Arron has now successfully completed his ambassador course and is keen to help others.
Throughout all this, it has always been my choice to take steps to recover. I would like to set up my own group for men who have experienced domestic abuse.
WithYou is proud to be the lead provider of THRIVE which is an Integrated Domestic Abuse and Substance Use (IDAS) partnership. THRIVE stands for Trusting, Hopeful, Resilient, Involved, Valued and Empowered.
Alongside WithYou, the partnership includes Harbour and Intuitive Thinking Skills, partnered with Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council.
For more information about our work in Redcar and Cleveland, visit wearewithyou.org.uk/local-hubs/redcar-and-cleveland
