I remember the first day I walked into Houghton House, the first thing I noticed was how clean and tranquil it was. No one will understand just how much I appreciated the simple things. It showed me just how much I was missing out on and just how bad my situation used to be.

While living in the UK times were tough, I had recently lost my job because of excessive drinking and it started to take a toll on every part of my life. I got a new job though, working at a multimedia retail store. I started drinking again every night; I used to think it had something to do with the way I was treated as a kid. My family eventually stepped in and told me to go to rehab, but being the addict I was I obviously didn’t like the idea but I still did it to get my parents off my back. I tried three centres, all of which were extremely expensive and the quality of care was not good. Then I found Houghton House which was based in South Africa and they offered a safe and reliable service unlike any institution in the UK.

Houghton House treated me like an individual. Like I was the most important person to them and this was the kind of treatment that convinced to come to Houghton House in the first place and more importantly, to stay. I was extremely apprehensive when I first arrived, I was very reserved because in the UK I was used to being treated as a second class citizen who had no money. After an extensive recovery I can happily say that I am no longer an addict and am leading a comfortable life, if it wasn’t for Houghton House I think that all hope would have been lost.