Wrexham man praises Caniad for saving his life

Tony Carr, from Rhosddu, has spoken out about how the Caniad mental health and substance misuse service in North Wales saved his life, after he became gripped by addiction and made several suicide attempts.

Caniad, based at Champions House on King Street, Wrexham, offer a range of services including supporting people experiencing substance misuse and mental health issues.

Tony, who is a chef by profession, had a troubled childhood, getting involved in gang culture from a young age.

Tony Carr before he went into detox

He also got involved in crime, even ending up living on the streets for a period of 12 months or so. He has previously lived in London, Wallasey on the Wirral and in Toxteth in Liverpool, settling in Wrexham in around 2016.

Tony, who is unable to work at present due to experiencing seizures, said that an acquaintance happened to mention the Caniad service to him and his life was turned around as a result of reaching out to them.

He said he fell in love with the town and its people, adding that his life was changed for the better through the support of Caniad and also through meeting his partner Vicky Khan, who lives in Nottingham.

'Gave me a purpose'

Tony said: "If it wasn't for Caniad I would have been dead five years ago.

"I came out of detox after being an alcoholic for 18 years. In that time, I'd made multiple suicide attempts and was living a path of self-destructive behaviour.

"I had no motivation to wake up and do stuff. Day to day things were the same routine, wake up, find money through petty crime or begging, hopefully eat but above all, drink.

"One day out of the blue I was introduced to an organisation named Caniad. This organisation help people living in addiction or suffering with mental health to find the support they need.

"At first I was reluctant to even acknowledge the idea of help from them but their approach was incredible. They told me that life can change, you and only you can change your life.

"It started off with little things. I would make my bed and iron my clothes.

"Caniad gave me a purpose then and they still do. I quit my drinking through detox and my life has never been better.

"I wake up every morning with a smile on my face. And that one smile can change a life.

"I have never been so proud to be alive, they nurtured me, they saved me. Thank you Caniad."

Tony added: "Caniad have given me a purpose but when I met Vicky my life really changed. She's the centre of my universe."

Tony Carr and his partner Vicky

Tony singled out Denise Childs and Amber O'Hara from Caniad in particular.

He said: "Denise Childs is an absolutely amazing woman. She would help anybody.

"I'd like to say a big thank you to her and to Amber O'Hara at Caniad.

"Caniad see you as an individual and if you've got something to say then they will help you say it.

"It's brilliant because you get involved as much as you want to. It's just really nice."

Helping others

Through Caniad, Tony has got involved with helping others, which he says has helped him enormously too. This voluntary work has ranged from being a member of a panel of service users called on to help interview new members of staff at Caniad to even getting involved in a consultation for patients on the Heddfan psychiatric unit at Wrexham Maelor Hospital.

This helped to improve the experience of patients at Heddfan and the initiative even won a Nursing Times award. Tony has also spoken out about his experiences of gang culture at conferences, in a bid to help others who might be drawn into this dangerous world.

Now he has his sights set on using his lived experience of being in recovery to help even more people in future.

He is hoping to go to college to train in this area, possibly as a substance misuse counsellor.