22 October 2026
Wes was nine when he first used cannabis and ten when he was first arrested. He went on to spend 13 and a half years in and out of prison. Today he has volunteered with Shropshire Recovery Partnership (SRP) for more than two years, using his own experience to support people who are where he once was. Now he has his sights set on working with young people.
Growing up with ADHD and early trouble with the police
Wes grew up in Macclesfield with two brothers and a sister. He was diagnosed with ADHD in 1993 and struggled to cope in mainstream school.
"I was really, really off the scale with my ADHD," he says. He moved to a special needs school, with five or six pupils in a class and an extra member of staff.
By nine he was smoking cannabis, and at ten he was arrested for the first time. He was excluded from high school in Year 8, was home-schooled by his mum for a time, then went to a residential school in the Lake District.
Things got worse at 16. "I stopped taking my ADHD tablets at 16, and that's when I went downhill," he says. "I was getting arrested three, four times a week." By 18 he was using cocaine. His mum asked him to leave home, and he spent a few months living on the streets.
Years in and out of prison, and a warning about his daughter
From the age of 17, Wes was in and out of prison. Alcohol and cocaine were his main substances, alongside others. "Addiction is a 24-hour job, and it's tiring," he says.
In 2014 his daughter was born. Wes kept returning to prison, and he was told that if things carried on, he wouldn't see his daughter until she was 18. In 2016 he went back to prison on an 18-month sentence.
Leaving prison and choosing recovery
Wes was released on 29 August 2017. Two days later, his probation officer called. They had arranged an assessment for him with a drug and alcohol treatment provider.
"He said, 'How much do you want this?' I said, 'I want it 100%. I need it,'" Wes says. "I got on my hands and knees and broke down in tears."
He was offered a bed that same day. Wes asked for a few hours to see his daughter and collect his things, and was picked up from his granddad's at 4pm. "That's where the recovery started," he says.
He spent eight months at First Step, where he had counselling and therapy and completed his first recovery courses. He then spent two to two and a half years in supported housing. He stayed in recovery for three and a half years and got a job with the YMCA.
Bereavement, relapse and finding his way back to support
Wes later moved to Shropshire, where he helped set up a shop and met his partner. In 2021 their son was born. Not long afterwards, his granddad 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 concerns were raised with the local authority, Wes came clean at a child protection meeting. After his dad died in 2022, he went into what he describes as a "full-blown" relapse lasting seven and a half months, and he lost care of his children.
He got his "foot back in recovery" and referred himself to SRP. He completed a 14-day detox in July 2023, with Ingrid, now the team leader of SRP's North team, as his key worker.
Volunteering at SRP and using his lived experience to help others
Wes has now volunteered with SRP for more than two years, and his own experience is what he brings to the role.
"I've been there. I know how you feel," he says. "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 ahead: taking his story into schools
Wes hopes to be on the SRP payroll by next year, and he knows where he wants to focus. Because he started using drugs so young, he wants to work with young people's services and take his story into schools.
"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.
Looking back, he would change things if he could. "If I could turn back the clock and restart my life again, I'd do it differently. I should have done more at school." But he doesn't dwell on regret. "Do I regret it? No, because I wouldn't be where I am today."
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.
Shropshire Recovery Partnership is delivered by WithYou in partnership with Shropshire Council. To learn more, visit wearewithyou.org.uk/local-hubs/shropshire-recovery-partnership.