Kevin Morris, Housing Manager and company secretary at NWRC today, was first appointed at Penrhyn House in late 2015. He is a good foil for James’s outgoing and gregarious nature, whilst at the same time sharing the same personality characteristics of not taking any ‘bullshit’ from other people, and being able to look after himself when confronted by aggressive residents.
Although the Recovery Programme in Penrhyn House was developing well early on, with the majority of participants coming in from the outside community responding positively, the residential part of NWRC continued to experience problems for a couple of years.
James and Kevin were hampered by the fact that many of the new residents were just out of prison and still in active addiction. Obviously, they needed people occupying beds for financial reasons, and for the fact that this was what they were funded to do. They couldn’t be as selective in taking in people as residents as they can be today, where they accept people who genuinely want to find long-term recovery.
James and Kevin’s personality characteristics of not taking any ‘bullshit’ from other people were essential in the first two years after the Recovery Programme started, as the going was often very tough. On occasion, the pair had to tell aggressive residents to pack their bags and leave or, ‘They would be dragged out by the scruff of their neck.’ They couldn’t afford to show any fear to these residents. At times, it was scary stuff and they felt out of their depth. However, they couldn’t back down, because it would have been unfair to the other residents who were not causing problems and just wanted peace and quiet.
James felt almost embarrassed in telling me that he had one rule of thumb. ‘We would never take anybody in that I physically didn’t feel that I could chuck out if it kicked off or if it went sideways.’ However, they did break that rule in one instance.
James V (Big James) was well over six feet and packed some weight. James was concerned that he might be a ‘kick-off’ merchant, so initially didn’t want to accept him into the house. However, Kevin was keen to allow him in. James couldn’t understand why Kevin would take the risk with Big James, but then remembered that Kevin had been a rugby union prop forward. So James D agreed that they would let Big James come into the house.
Big James is one of NWRC’s real success stories, contributing to their Covid-relief efforts (feeding local community members) and working at Bwyd Da Bangor, first as a kitchen porter and then as a chef. He is now in long-term recovery and is a successful chef.
James has rarely worked for less than 70 hours in a week for the past ten years. But as he says: ‘That’s what it’s like when one person is chasing his passion or dream.’ Looking back, he can see NWRC developing in various stages over time, one of which began in 2017 when he was able to say to Wulf Livingston, who was acting as an external supervisor for him, that ‘We now have eight or nine people in recovery in the house, and I think that there is now enough recovery for it to be self-sustainable.’
One reason why this change was so important is that it took the pressure off the small number of staff members who were having to oversee all meetings and activities in the house. Residents of the house were now taking over the running of some of the activities, like the MOIMR groups. Seeing more people in long-term recovery in the house also enhanced feelings of hope in newer residents.