I grew up in Kent and spent the first 20+ years of my life surrounded by drugs, alcohol and gang life. I moved to East Anglia to try and get away from that lifestyle. Following the break up of two relationships and not being allowed to see my kids, I ended up alone, in a one bed flat in Suffolk. I was broken. In April 2017 a work colleague invited me to join an Alpha Course. This proved to be a turning point in my life and was the start to my route to freedom.

I became a Christian but couldn’t break my alcohol addiction so in Dec 2017, I went into a Christian Rehab centre near Nottingham called

Teen Challenge for 11 months. It was there that God broke my addiction and set me free. I got baptised and God gave me a vision for starting a charity to reach those who find themselves in a

similar place to where I was. The approach of Route2Freedom is based upon my experience and my own personal route to freedom.

Since becoming a follower of Christ in March 2012, I have always been drawn to the most marginalised in society. In June 2012 I started to work with those who had drug/alcohol problems & homelessness, a ministry within Burlington Baptist Church where I attend. This changed me massively. It involved taking care of personal needs such as supplying them with food, clothes, sorting out

things like furniture for when they were housed, lifts & at times picking them up from the police station ready to offer support & care. It has been through journeying with them and meeting on a regular

basic that has helped to build trust and enable change to happen. This is why I love working with Route2Freedom because it’s about putting my faith into action and offering long term support and friendship with those struggling in life and

helping them find a route to freedom and a better life.

I have been a truster in and a follower of Jesus since I was 18. For 38 years I was a Social Worker and Social Work Team manager working with adults. I was then a Church Pastor for over 9 years. I guess that over all these years I have worked out my faith through helping people through caring physically, practically, emotionally and spiritually. Having come across Route2Freedom by God-incidence I believe I can use my experience in supporting the Outreach Workers in their work of journeying with folks helping them practically, emotionally and spiritually to find long term freedom in Christ Jesus.

I’m the ‘old man’ of the team! With a young heart for Christ.

I grew up in Ipswich with my Mum and two brothers. My Father was absent so I never had a father figure around me. During my teenage years I suffered with depression and felt so hopeless, I would fill the gap in my heart with quick fixes to numb the pain. For so long I tried to do things in my own strength, thinking I knew better with God set aside as a backup each time. Back and forth in a battle for a while until I realised I cannot keep living two lives.

Then God set me free and I learnt to be intentional in my relationship with God because I realised Gods long term plan is better than mine and will bring genuine happiness, joy and freedom. I realised I have a father in heaven that loves me. He gave me a heart to love and support people. Since then I have worked with children, youth and adults, supporting them and helping them create a better life for themselves. I love witnessing God transforming other peoples life and I volunteer for R2F because I want others to find that freedom in Jesus just like I have.

I come from a broken family and grew up in care. I moved around a lot and I got into a lot of trouble. However, I came through and went on to have 3 children. Life was relatively OK for a few years but then after a very traumatic event I ended up getting in to a bad drug addiction. As a result I nearly lost my children and home. One day I was at my lowest, sleeping in a supermarket cafe when the team from Route2Freedom found me and talked to me; they said they could help me if I wanted it. A few weeks later I called R2F and they helped me as much as they could which was the start of my journey. They helped get into a Christian rehab in Wales, and I became a Christian and got baptised. I found freedom from the addiction but also healing for my difficult past as well as the guilt and shame resulting from the addiction. I now live with all my children and work part time as an outreach support worker for Route2Freedom so I can share with others the love and freedom I have received myself.