Paisley woman Emma who nearly died of alcoholism volunteers at Erskine rehab clinic that saved her

A mother who nearly died of alcoholism last year is rebuilding her life by volunteering at the same Scottish rehabilitation clinic where she was treated.

Emma Harrison, 43, from Paisley, was admitted to hospital three times at the start of 2023 after her drinking spiralled out of control and isolated her from her family.

At her lowest point, she had developed alcohol-related neuropathy which left her barely able to walk, and was suffering from hypothermia.

She turned her life around after being admitted to Abbeycare, a residential drug and alcohol addiction recovery clinic in Erskine.

She spent 12 weeks at the facility after arriving in March last year, and later completed its comprehensive aftercare programme, which helps to reduce the risk of a relapse.

Emma now spends 14 hours a week volunteering at the clinic and is on track to gain an SVQ in health and social care, which could lead to full-time employment.

She is one of the first people to take part in Abbeycare’s new peer volunteering programme, which gives those in recovery from drug and alcohol addictions the chance to help others who are going through the same thing.

“I was killing myself with alcohol, drinking myself to death. I was drinking in the house on my own, and my children had been removed from my care,” Emma recalls.

“I got to the stage where I didn’t know if it was 10 o’ clock in the morning or 10 o’ clock at night. I was admitted to hospital with hypothermia and my family thought I was going to die.

“One day Gordon, the admissions manager at Abbeycare, and the nurse from my local addiction service came to my hospital bed and asked if I wanted to come in.

“When I started rehab I was really, really poorly. I was severely underweight, I’d lost a lot of my hair. But I had a willingness to change and I did everything that they asked me to do.

“I had one-to-one therapy and group therapy, and started learning all about addiction, as well as the triggers to look out for and things from my past that I didn’t know still affected me.”

Photo: Emma Harrison

Six months after completing her stay at Abbeycare, Emma joined its peer support programme, being assigned as a contact for people who were about to leave the clinic.
This led to a position on its volunteering programme, where participants are given the chance to work in the clinic, learn from other staff and complete training courses.

Around half of Abbeycare’s existing staff are in recovery themselves, and the aim of the programme is to build up volunteers’ skills so they can eventually get a permanent position.

One of Emma’s responsibilities is to do ‘check in calls’, where staff contact clients who have recently left the clinic to make sure they are not overwhelmed by returning to normal life.

She has also taken a first aid course and has undergone suicide prevention training. Now more than a year sober, she has also rebuilt her relationship with her three children.

“It’s been a beautiful journey,” she says. “I learn so much from the staff in here and from the new clients who are coming in.

“Helping others is all part of our recovery, that’s how we stay sober. I think the clients can relate to us, because it’s not that long ago that we were in their position ourselves.

It gives them hope straight away, because they see that recovery is possible.

“Abbeycare saved my life. If I hadn’t come in here, I wouldn’t be here today. I would’ve gone out, lifted a drink again, and I wouldn’t have survived it. It’s given me a life to live and I feel like I’ve found my calling.”

Eddie Clarke, outreach manager at the Abbeycare Group, said: “We hope Emma’s story will act as an inspiration to those who find their lives devastated by alcohol addiction, which unfortunately continues to affect too many people in Scotland.

“She has been on a remarkable journey that began in her hospital bed when she was offered the chance to begin her recovery with us, and we are so glad that she said yes.

“She is now a valued member of Abbeycare staff, who uses her own experiences to put people at ease when they first arrive at the clinic and support them when they move on.

“We hope that Emma will be the first in a long line of former patients who go on to achieve great things after taking part in our volunteering programme.”