I know the loneliness of addiction. The support of good people is vital to beat it – Rona Lindsay

It used to be that from the minute I opened my eyes I was thinking about drink or drugs. The value of routine is that it keeps you committed to your recovery. I don’t like letting people down – and that's a full 360-degree turn from where I was before.

When I was using and drinking, I felt so alone. So when I got into recovery, I really valued having people around me, supporting me. And I'm supporting them.

READ MORE: How volunteering in Edinburgh Cyrenians community for homeless people changed our lives

Excited by the future

You need to put the work in, but as long as people are there, it can help you along the way. It’s important to me that I can take my mum and dad with me to our New Year’s Eve party, our barbecues, the café and karaoke nights. They are a big part of my recovery.

I started volunteering for ERA by helping out at barbecues, and going along to the café. And then in 2024, a trainee spot opened on the staff team. And I thought, “You know what? I want to work for them”.

So I put my application in. I was given a year's contract, which got extended, and then it got extended a little bit more and then, two weeks ago, I got made permanent. I'm so excited to see what the future holds.

ERA is largely run by people like me – with lived experience of addiction. If somebody’s coming to me about a problem, I can help them, because I’ve probably been through it.

READ MORE: Why 5,000 young people become homeless in Scotland every year

People who just want to help

Until I came to ERA, I didn't understand that there was this massive community of people that don't want anything from you. They just want to see you do well. Nobody’s a stranger.

It doesn't matter if you've only been to one activity: you're a familiar face. We’ve got people who are fresh out of rehab, and people who have been sober for years.

On November 19, we’re launching our newly refurbished building in Leith. It’s going to be a home for us. A place for us to run our activities without paying outrageous rents, and a place for folk to come and relax around familiar faces.

It means a lot for the organisation to finally have a base of operations that we can call our own. And it means a lot for me, to give back to the people who supported me to get where I am today.

Rona Lindsay works for Edinburgh Recovery Activities (ERA), a community-based addiction recovery group run by the charity Cyrenians. It provides everything from yoga sessions to fishing trips, to ensure that folk going through recovery have a place to go, and familiar faces to meet.