Steven has turned his lived experience into a career helping others

Ten years ago, Steven Norman started out as an apprentice on a programme for people with lived experience of drugs and alcohol. 

Today he leads WithYou's recovery team in Dumfries and Galloway.

It wasn't an obvious career path. His own drug and alcohol use had started young, and progressed over time to heroin. 

By his mid-20s, Steven had spent years moving in and out of services and tried residential rehab. It didn't fix things straight away, though he later drew on what he'd learned there.

Then a court appearance on a fraud charge changed everything.

"I nearly went to prison, and that was the turning point for me. I knew I had to change. It was either that or I was going to die," Steven says.

Afterwards, Steven, who's from Annan, about a 25-minute drive from Dumfries, went to college and gained an HNC in Health and Social Care. 

Around the same time, the local Alcohol and Drug Partnership advertised their apprenticeship programme, and Steven applied. 

He got a place, though it meant commuting to Stranraer, so for almost two years he made the long round trip each day before moving into a recovery worker post at WithYou in Dumfries.

In 2020, Steven moved into a frontline assertive outreach role, and within months he'd stepped into a team leader role. 

Every day starts with a meeting alongside NHS colleagues, checking for anyone who's had a non-fatal overdose overnight, work that, across the service last year, helped provide a rapid response to more than 250 people locally. 

Alongside that, he manages a small caseload of his own, supervises staff, and supports the wider team.

"It could be clients, it could be meetings, it could be supervising staff and helping with any issues, or partner meetings. No two days are the same," he says. "That's what I enjoy most about the role."

Steven doesn't share his own story with every client, but he'll draw on it when it helps, particularly when someone is struggling to stay engaged.

"You know when people are struggling because they aren't turning up. It would be easy to get annoyed and start chasing them, but you understand their situation. 

People can say they're ready to change and then not actually follow through with it, and I get that. I did that for years myself, so my experience helps in the role to a certain degree," he says.

Steven's honest that recovery, for him, doesn't look like formal meetings or peer groups. He doesn't attend NA or AA. Instead, he says the job itself does that work for him.

"This job keeps me on the straight and narrow. It keeps me in recovery without being in recovery, if that makes sense," he says.

Alongside the day-to-day work, Steven has kept building his qualifications, including an HNC, then an SVQ 3, then an SVQ 4, and now he's partway through a second SVQ 4 in management, the highest level available. 

His ambition is to manage a service one day.

“I enjoy the training, writing essays and studying for my SVQs, so I try to do as much as I can," he says.

For anyone reading his story and wondering whether reaching out is worth it, Steven's message is honest rather than easy. He says change rarely happens quickly, and it isn't usually a straight line.

"The most important thing is taking that first step, making that contact. It's not an easy journey. It can take years and years. It's a journey, one that's worth taking, but it's a journey nonetheless," he says.

If you or someone you know needs support with drugs or alcohol, Steven and the team are here to help. Find out more about our free, confidential support in Dumfries and Galloway at www.wearewithyou.org.uk/local-hubs/dumfries-and-galloway.