Overcoming a drug addiction can be extremely challenging, especially when the threat of relapse is always present. This is what happened to Sammie-Jo, who appears in the BBC series, Sex, Drugs and Murder: Life in the Red-Light Zone. In the show, Sammie-Jo talks of how she owned her own beauty salon before suffering a relapse and finding herself back taking heroin and crack cocaine. She will now most likely need drug rehab if she is to get herself back on her feet once more.
Prostitution
Sammie-Jo has been forced to work as a prostitute in the red-light district of Holbeck in Leeds to fund her addiction, but she is now determined to overcome it once and for all. She said, “I’m a qualified holistic therapist, aromatherapist, reiki master. It’s not like I’m just a down-and-out council estate, common as muck junkie, do you know what I mean? I’m passionate about it. I really enjoy doing it; it’s something that I really am into. It’s nice to care, isn’t it? It’s nice to be cared for, but it’s even nicer to care. Once I’ve sorted myself out, I wanna be able to move forward and start doing this again.”
Rehabilitation
This is not the first episode of the BBC show that Sammie-Jo has appeared on; in a previous episode, she was seen visiting the premises of her former salon, which is now empty and in the landlord’s possession.
Sammie-Jo has been shown trying to get appointments for drug rehab in the latest episode, but even though she makes appointments, she is never able to keep them. She said, “I don’t know what I’ll do, I’m confused.com. I’m sick of waking up in a morning relying on drugs. Might not seem it cause I’ve ran away and got scared from them appointments, but I’ve got to face it. If I don’t then I never will. I’m scared.”
She added, “I need to bring myself out the other side or the inevitable – cause that’s what it is for me, I’m telling you. I want to be clean; I wanna have my life back.”
She is finally seen attending a drug rehab assessment appointment after missing the first four. She said, “It didn’t get too personal like I was expecting it to. It was just like, what’s going on in your life. The next step for me, get myself on this prescription to stop using like as much, like she said. Try and occupy myself. I want it more than anything. More than anything or anyone.”
Desperation
The show also features another prostitute, Kayleigh, who has three children in the care of her parents. She spoke of how she is desperate to get clean so that she can see her children once more. She is seen writing a letter and reading it out while crying. She said, “Hi my gorgeous little boys, I hope you’re all OK. I’m sorry I’ve not spoken to you all or not seen you all in a while, but Mummy’s head’s not been well. I hope you can all understand and I hope to see you all soon. All my love, hugs and kisses, to the moon and stars and back again and around.”
Kayleigh also spoke of her eternal gratitude to her parents for taking care of the children, and said, “I know they’ve all stepped up, they’ve all put their own lives on hold to raise my children, they’ve done what I should have done but failed to do. For that, I’ll be eternally grateful, and I just hope they can find it in their hearts to give me one last chance, and I know it’s been said time and time before but I hope they can see this time it’s different, like they did before when I were clean, prior to this relapse.”
Kayleigh also said that her children are the most important things in her life and that she wants to get back in touch with them. She stated that she intends to prove to them that she can overcome her illness and not ‘be another statistic’.
She went on to say, “I don’t think it’s clever the life that I’ve lived, I’m not thinking it’s good or anything, I’m not bragging about it. I’ve done it so if I can try help one person not go down this path then that’s an achievement. If I can stop more than one person, then that’s fantastic. Obviously, I am relieved that I’ve done it [sent the letter], so we just wait. Just sit and wait.”
Overcoming Addiction with Drug Rehab
For most people with addictions to drugs or alcohol, a programme of drug rehab will be necessary to tackle both the physical and the psychological side of the illness. If you require help for addiction, please do not hesitate to contact us here at UKAT.
We can discuss your options in terms of the treatment programmes we provide. Call today for more information.
Source: Hull prostitute Sammie-Jo speaks of battle to come off heroin on BBC show Sex, Drugs & Murder (The Hull Daily Mail)
