AN INVERCLYDE mum says she would have died if it hadn't been for the support of a lifeline service set up to help local women turn their lives around.

Jericho House in Shankland Road has saved hundreds of lives over the years using people-centred, total abstinence rehabilitation.

The project will mark its 10th anniversary next year.

Mum-of-two Megan, who has asked the Tele not to publish her surname, is one of their many success stories.

Megan, 27, said: "It's been life-changing, not only from stopping drugs but how I've developed as a person.

"I didn't know how, to be honest. It's not just about not telling lies, it's about the stuff you're not saying.

"It's not just helped me but everyone. It's helped me build bridges with my mum and my children.

"I wouldn't have been here if it hadn't been for Jericho."

Megan says Jericho House saved her life.Megan says Jericho House saved her life. (Image: George Munro)

The Telegraph met Megan as she left the house after completing nine months of the project's 12-step programme that has helped so many people.

She said: "Me and my mum couldn't sit in the same room together before. Now I'm looking forward to having both my kids back in my life. They're my joy.

"I don't want to let myself down and I don't want to let them down."

Megan was brought up in a loving family with working parents and a little brother.

She said: "To be honest, I don't come from a family of addiction. My mum and dad worked in respectable jobs. My mum worked as a pupil support assistant in a local school and my dad was an accountant. I didn't come from chaos.

"I started smoking weed and drinking at the weekend when I was 14 or 15. Probably by the time I was 16 I was taking drugs into the house.

"My mum told me either I had to stop or I had to go. My younger brother was still at home and she didn't want him exposed to drugs."

READ MORE: How the Tele is shining a light on addiction in Inverclyde during Recovery Month

Megan left and ended up homeless, and her addiction spiralled out of control, moving on to Valium.

She said: "I was in and out of homeless accommodation but I still did well at school, even though I was still using.

"I still managed to get an education and got a place UWS in Hamilton, studying criminal justice, which is ironic."

Megan took Valium over a long period of time and said it made her feel more confident.

She said: "I used drugs to help me feel more sure of myself."

From around when she was 15 until the age of 18 she would return home, then back into homeless accommodation.

Things came to a head when she was 18 and for two years she was in homeless flats.

Megan had her first daughter, who is now six, and moved into a temporary flat.

She said: "I stopped using for over a year without realising that I was addicted. As soon as I my mum took my daughter overnight, I started taking drugs.

"This time it was heroin and crack. I just wasn't there."

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She went through a detox programme before being accepted at Jericho House, whose programme is based on total abstinence.

Megan said: "When I first came in here I was riddled with shame and guilt. I didn't have any solution. The only solution I had was using drugs. It was a vicious circle."

In many ways Megan's is an unusual story as she managed to hold down a job while she was using drugs.

She said: "Throughout all my using, I worked in Greggs for 10 years, since I was 16. But once I had graduated to harder drugs, I couldn't get out of bed.

"My daughter was with her dad, and there was no homeless accommodation, so her dad paid for me to stay in a hotel."

She said there were times that as her addiction spiralled out of control, she 'did what she had to do' to get money to feed her habit, admitting to shoplifting.

Megan now has epilepsy as a result of her drug use, and says she could have died without anyone knowing.

She said: "Whenever I didn't have drugs, I was trying to source some, sitting in a room with the blinds down. I was up all night, and never slept for days."

She said Jericho was different from other rehab units she had tried before, because she felt she was given the time to go at her own pace.

READ MORE: Life-saving priest who founded the Jericho Society marks its 50th anniversary

Megan said: "The difference in here is they don't push you to get out the door. It can take six months or it can take a year.

"It's person-centred and you have a key worker who has gone through the same programme.

"It's like no other. Jericho saved my life. It taught me everything I need to to do to go out there. I need to put that into action.

"It's helped me built bridges with my family. My mum has visited me at Jericho and she was in tears. She was asking herself where she went wrong.

"I told it it's not her fault. I've got a brother who doesn't have a problem with drugs or alcohol.

"I think there's the fear of admitting you have a problem, that you're going to be judged because you're sick.

"But if I hadn't opened up when I did, and got help, I would have died.

"When I came in, I was just gone. There was nothing behind my eyes. I'd lost weight too. My hair was falling out.

"They feed you up in here.

"We work in groups with manager Margaret Diamond. She's got a lot of wisdom. We talk through problems and how to deal with conflict.

READ MORE: Alcohol abuse 'going hand in hand' with drug addiction in Inverclyde, charity says

"We learn skills on how to deal with things in another way and talk to each other."

Megan is now looking forward is going home and spending time with her partner and youngest daughter, who is now aged two.

She's also excited about having her oldest daughter back in her life and relishing the simple things like the nursery run.

But for Megan, this is not the end of her journey; it's just the beginning.

She said: "I hope to get back to education. I got a few qualifications in numeracy and education while I was here.

"I want to go back and make something of myself."