Among those supported by the service was Jamie Devine, who used to work at a start-up company but began “gambling heavily”.
“I stole nearly £40,000 from the company I was director of, in order to pay the loan-sharks off,” he said.
He became homeless and started using drugs before he was arrested, but fled to Scotland after he was released on bail. He was eventually arrested and sent to prison.
“The moment that cell locked, I was a 10-year-old frightened little boy again,” he said. “I waited for my cell mate to go to sleep and cried myself to sleep.”
Mr Devine has been in recovery for almost 14 months and said he had realised he was previously driven by fear.
He added: “Being in recovery has given me the opportunity to be able to deal with those things the fear was based around – that loss of identity, that black hole inside of me, and now I am no longer scared.”
