Craig MacKenzie: Kilmacolm man thanks The Haven

Craig MacKenzie was distraught at the death of little Summer after medics performed an emergency caesarian on his partner who had slipped into a coma in April of 2021.

Craig turned to The Haven programme in Kilmacolm last year after his life had spiralled downwards and out of control into the depths of alcohol and cocaine misuse.

He told the Telegraph: "I want to thank everyone at The Haven who loved me back to life. 

"It's an amazing community and I can't thank them enough for all the support they've given me."

It was the second time that Craig - who is now on an internship pathway to becoming a support worker with The Haven - was rescued by the charity, having been helped by the team also in 2013.

He says he will be forever grateful to the team and wants to raise awareness of the help The Haven can provide. 

Telling of the loss he and his partner suffered when she was 35 weeks pregnant, Craig said: "We were absolutely devastated. 

"We had to have a funeral for her.

"It's something you never think you're going to have to deal with."

He first sought help from the rehabilitation service after he started using drugs in prison, and continued to use substances when he was released. 

Craig - who first sought help from The Haven after he started using drugs in prison 11 years - stayed away from drink and substances until December of 2021 but relapsed at Christmas.

He said: "It would have been the first Christmas with our baby daughter and I found it so hard.

"I started drinking and using cocaine.

"I was dealing with so much emotional pain, anger, and resentment."

Craig eventually got back to The Haven in April last year thanks to a friend he met at the rehabilitation facility the first time around. 

He says without the team he would have been trapped in a cycle he wouldn't have been able to get out of on his own. 

Craig said: "I couldn't have done it all myself. 

"I was really struggling, trying to deal with everything that had happened. 

"I wasn't looking at the trauma and I wasn't tackling it.

"It took me a year in The Haven to work through it all and be able to talk about it, and come to terms with it."

Craig first got to know about the work of the charity after returning to the community when he was released from prison after being found guilty of serious assault. 

He said he had a 'revelation' one night when he went to a friend's house intending to use drink and drugs. 

Craig said: "I knocked on the door and there was no answer. 

"Normally I would have gone to another friend's house but something made me to just sit on the steps. 

"I didn't know what I was waiting for."

Craig says that as he was sitting on the steps, he was approached by a member of the Teen Challenge team who happened to be out and about in the community. 

He took Craig to an outreach church in Port Glasgow that same night, and that was where his journey with the charity began. 

Craig said: "After I left the church, I knew something had happened to me. 

"I had heard other people telling their stories. 

"It gave me a bit of hope and helped me see a way out of addiction."

Craig spent 17 months at The Haven before moving to London where he worked with the Teen Challenge team for almost three years. 

In his time in London, he passed his driving test, gained a health and social care qualification, and started working in youth work. 

Craig says his time with Teen Challenge and his time at The Haven have helped him achieve a lot of things he didn't think he would ever be able to do. 

He said: "It's a very structured and disciplined programme at The Haven and I know that's going to stand me in good stead for the rest of my life. 

"It's a miracle that I've been able to come out of the other end of the process and not look at things in the same way."

"It's really working for people and I'm an example of that.

"If anyone is looking to change their life, it's the place to be."