I needed help for addiction - 30 years later I'm running the service

Tommy Canning was 22 years old when he first arrived at an addiction support centre battling alcohol and drug abuse problems – 30 years later he's still there.

Now head of treatment at the centre he once attended as a patient, Canning helps people who are in similar situations to his.

"It is an incredible chain of events that the young man who needed the service is now looking after Northlands Centre and carrying the responsibility for it," he said.

Canning said his first-hand knowledge and personal perspective means he understands what people are facing when they arrive on the same doorstep he did all those years ago.

"I see it as my job to ensure whoever comes through the doors gets the same level of care, treatment and hope of recovery that I did," he told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme.

Canning's connection to the centre which once helped him isn't unique amongst some of its staff.

Dean O'Hara, who has been in recovery from alcohol addiction for 19 years, has a similar story to tell having also received treatment at the place he now calls work.

"Giving back to Northlands was always in the back of my mind.

"With my own story and experience, I felt that it was the right fit for me after my counsellor training," the 55-year-old said.

"I've had my own journey and that lived experience helps."

Established as a grassroots organisation in 1975, Northland's Addiction Centre in Londonderry has grown into one of the leading treatment centres in Northern Ireland.

Catering to those who live with substance abuse, alcohol dependence, and gambling addiction, it provides residential treatment, non-residential programmes, family support and an after-care programme.

Around 800 people received non-residential care at Northlands in 2025.

That first call for help is often described as one of the most difficult things a person struggling with addiction can do, and if they make the call to Northlands, chances are they will find themselves on the phone with Bernie Williamson.

The information manager is in charge of dealing with the "relentless" demand for appointments and is often the first person to give someone in need a reassurance that recovery is possible.

"The phones in the office never stop," she said.

"It's very busy. The calls and referrals are coming from right across Northern Ireland.

"It can be very challenging, but we do try to give people reassurance and hope."

One of those people who once reached out for help is Thomas Campbell.

He came to Northlands in 2020 after losing "absolutely everything" to alcohol addiction.

Almost six years later he said the centre gave him his life back: "A life beyond my wildest dreams."

"I was homeless and had ended up on my own, my family and friends had stopped talking to me.

"At my lowest, I was drinking two bottles of vodka a day."

Campbell said he views addiction as a "terminal illness" and something that he will fight "until the day I die".

"Addiction is killing people on a daily basis – services need to be supported better," he said.

Funding services like Northlands is an ongoing battle for those who run it, who said what they receive is not "even close" to what is needed.

"We have to look at the bigger picture here," Tommy Canning said.

"People in recovery are no longer as much of a burden on the health service, the justice system or social services.

"For every pound that's invested in high quality addiction services, there is a huge positive knock-on effect."

Canning hopes that Northlands will continue to help those in crisis over the next fifty years.

"I hope that we will be here to help the people that need us – an addiction centre of excellence serving people across Northern Ireland is the ultimate goal.

"I love Northlands - for all that it does and for all that it has given me."

Since 2014, Northern Ireland has seen registered deaths due to alcohol-specific causes rise by 81.3% from 219 to 397 in 2024, according to the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).

Funding provisions for a new addiction centre in Derry were outlined in the New Decade, New Approach deal in 2020.

Plans for Northlands to relocate to a new site in the city as an addiction 'centre of excellence' have not yet progressed.

The Department of Health (DoH) said it currently invests more than £35m in substance use services each year.

"Decision making on investment in health services must be informed by evidence and be responsive to identified commissioning priorities," a spokesperson added.

"It is important to note that Annex A of New Decade, New Approach referenced potential funding for the Derry/Londonderry addiction centre but did not commit to funding specifically for the centre.

"Officials continue to engage with the Northern Ireland Office in this regard.

"The overriding objective will be to provide the best substance use services possible within the available resources."

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, information about help and support is available via BBC Action Line.