Addiction is not a choice. Addiction is a complex condition, a brain disease that is manifested by compulsive substance use despite harmful consequence. Over an estimated half a million people in the UK have alcohol dependency, and are in need of specialist treatment. Less than one-fifth
receive help.
‘Serenity’ aims to confront the harmful stereotypes of addicts and rehabilitation. Documenting all-male Christian-run rehabilitation centre Yeldall Manor, and the day to day lives of its residents, this work becomes a photographic representation of the realities of addiction and recovery within rehab. Rehabilitation is not the prison which so many perceive it, instead it is a sanctuary. An isolated community, keeping those at their most vulnerable safe from the outside world while they recover. This work allowed me to not only show the person behind the illness, but to finally give a voice to those within their journey of recovery. The unseen, misunderstood and ongoing battle of addiction.