From service user to staff member
Danni Hyland is 37 years old and has worked at Bridge for more than two years as a Harm Reduction Worker. But that’s not how she first came to the project.
I had lost everything and everybody that I cared about in my life.
When I first came across the Bridge Project over ten years ago it was because I myself was a heroin and crack addict. My life had become extremely chaotic.
I was introduced to the Needle Exchange service at Bridge and found it really helpful. Alongside the Needle Exchange, harm reduction advice was given, which helped me to stay safe from hepatitis and other drug-related infections.
I was given a key-worker who I knew had been through similar experiences to me. I felt someone understood me for the first time in a long time. I also felt I could be completely honest about where I was at because I didn’t feel judged.
Bridge helped me to find a place in rehab, which was all part of the process of me becoming clean. Although I wasn’t ready at that time and left, I learned some valuable lessons which helped me later in my journey.
Some time later I reached rock bottom and really wanted to escape the life I was leading. A friend who lived out of the area (who wasn’t a drug user) invited me to stay at their house. This was in 2002 and I have been clean from drugs ever since.
I came back to Bradford and worked in a few different jobs, one of which was as a hostel worker. In this job I realised I was drawn to helping those who had drug problems as I’d had. I was given the opportunity to join the committee at the Bridge Project as an former service user. I also became a volunteer in the women’s clinic at Bridge and through this gained some invaluable experience. At this point a job arose as a harm reduction worker in the Needle Exchange Service and I applied and was offered the job.
I have now been clean for five years and I am happy. I am living a life that at one time I never thought I would be able to achieve.
I really enjoy my job and being part of the team here at Bridge and I also feel that my journey and experiences can be an encouragement to those who use our services.