I left Bangor at lunchtime on Tuesday, 30th April, and spent four hours on two trains that took me to Burton-on-Trent, where I was to visit the BAC O’Connor Centre. The weather improved and I arrived to a nice sunny day. The last of the summer sunshine I had brought from Perth and kept in my pocket! I headed into BAC O’Connor the following morning.
I first met the late Noreen Oliver MBE, Founder of BAC O’Connor, in the Houses of Parliament twenty years ago. Simon Shepherd, then CEO of the Federation of Drug and Alcohol Professionals (FDAP), had wanted me to meet some of the ‘movers and shakers’ in the field and introduced me to Noreen at one of his FDAP meetings in the ‘esteemed’ building alongside the Thames.
Noreen asked if my Wired In team would be willing to do an evaluation of her Burton Addiction Centre, as BAC O’Connor was known as then, and I agreed. We also ended up conducting two research projects and writing 19 Personal Stories. You can read about this evaluation and one of the research projects as part of My Journey on my Recovery Stories website.
Noreen and I remained good friends over the following 19 years. She was one of the most amazing women I have met and what she achieved with BAC O’Connor is extraordinary. I last saw Noreen in October 2022, and soon after I returned to Australia she commissioned me to write her biography. We had a small number of Zoom interviews about her life before she became very ill in early 2023. She slowly started to recover, but sadly passed away in December last year. You can read two blog posts written about Noreen after she passed away here and here.
I spent two full days and an early morning at BAC O’Connor in Burton-on-Trent. It was so good to see old friends again, including Noreen’s husband Tony (now Director), her brother Kevin Langan (Programme Director), Kendra Gray (Chief Executive Officer) and her husband Mark (Financial Director). It was very emotional seeing them again, given the loss of Noreen and the impact this has had on her loved ones… and on me. I was treated so well at BAC O’Connor, and at times it felt quite humbling. I also spent a good deal of time talking with the delightful Vanessa White, who was Noreen’s Personal Assistant for a number of years. The five of us shared our memories of Noreen. [The photo at the top of this blog post shows from left: Tony, Kevin, Kendra, me, Vanessa and Mark.]
I gave a two hour talk (with break) on trauma and healing to at least 25 clients on the first day. On the second day, I gave a talk lasting about 105 minutes, with a break, to two groups of staff (about 40 in total). The first part of this talk was entitled From Brain Chemicals to Human Connection: A Personal Journey, whilst the second focused on the story of the Aboriginal child artists of Carrolup. I was really pleased to receive very positive feedback about each of the three talks. It was really good to be telling the Carrolup Story in another country. Please see this previous blog post.
I was thrilled to see and hear how well BAC O’Connor was doing at the moment. There is something so special in this recovery community. I felt it all those years ago, and I felt it again during this visit. The passion, the enthusiasm, and the caring about people on their recovery journey. The hope and sense of belonging was palpable. The organisation has grown substantially and they are a great example of what can be achieved in helping people recover from addiction and those problems that can lead to addiction, e.g. trauma-related experiences. I was thrilled to hear about the trauma healing programme that Noreen’s brother Kevin had developed.
I must mention several other aspects relating to my visit. Firstly, I must thank the crew at BAC O’Connor for their hospitality and kindness. I was provided with accommodation in a nice hotel and taken out for lovely dinners with team members on each of the days of my visit. I was also taken to the excellent Langan’s Tea Rooms, owned by the O’Connor Gateway Charitable Trust and run as a social enterprise, where I enjoyed excellent lunches. On the first day, we also received a tasting plate of assorted cakes (see below)—they were delicious! I also gave my staff talks in a large room at Langan’s Tea Rooms, and was shown around the various other facilities that are provided in the building for people on their recovery journey.
I should also point out that I received lots of hugs, just as I did at North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC) and Eternal Media. I love recovery hugs! The shy child David would never imagined hugging as much as I do when I am amongst recovering people.
I’ll be writing more about BAC O’Connor in future blog posts. For now though, I suggest you check out their website, particularly the sections on the various elements of their programme: Detoxification, Rehabilitation, Recovery Academy, Recovery Housing, Recovery Community, and Family Support. It is well worth checking out their brochures, which are linked to in each of the individual pages.
I hope you like the following film and the photos below:
Thank you again, my good friends at BAC O’Connor. I so enjoyed my stay! And thank you for the boxes of delicious rocky road and choc brownies you provided me for my journey… my grandchildren in Manchester also enjoyed them!!
