A dad who turned his life around after suffering from alcohol and drug addiction is now campaigning for others to do the same.
Martyn Abbey from Wavertree has felt extreme highs and lows on his road to recovery. From sleeping in a tent next to a railway to a 14-week rehabilitation.
He was given a second chance when friend and former client Chris Lewis offered to help him open a barber shop and the Big Onion in Bootle. When the ECHO spoke to Martyn in May last year his barber shop was in its infancy.
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One year on Martyn, 34, said that after battling addiction and feeling like he "contributed nothing to society" he now takes pleasure in the simple things in life like "being able to pay bills on time".
Speaking to the ECHO he said: "I was addicted to everything, believe me whatever you could be addicted to I was there. I had a lot of relationship breakdowns, with my family and my son but I am slowly starting to see a little more light at the end of the tunnel.
"I was doing well in school but at 15 it all changed I had experienced death from a young age and it sent me down the wrong path. One of the hardest things was people seeing how far I had fallen."
Martyn said that the opportunity to open up his own barber shop was his "lifeline" while in rehab. Now in 2022, his business is steadily growing and he has up to 15 customers a day.
Martyn said: "I feel like part of society again and I'm economically independent, I'm not a drain on anybody. I take pleasure in paying bills, I love it.
"It is a discipline it keeps me on the right path and I could never imagine in my wildest dreams where I am right now but if I can do it anyone can. My main goal is to become a councillor and I'm still working on it, learning from the people around me.
"I'm just taking it one day at a time, last year I was rushing to get ahead now I know it is about patience. The most important piece of advice I could give anyone is that they can't do it alone."
Martyn is now campaigning for people to seek help through the Better Off Fund a fully-financed program of support for anybody looking to enter or re-enter employment. The fund is being administered by The Women's Organisation which helped Martyn on his road to recovery.
Germaine Fryer Engagement and client relationship co-ordinator at the WO said: “The Better Off Fund programme offers people who are out of work an opportunity to train, upskill and invest time and energy in their personal and professional development, without it being an additional and impossible financial pressure.
"We are taking the hidden cost of training away from childcare, travel, and mobile phone top-ups. We just want people to know that if someone wants to make a positive change like Martyn then we can help."
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