A woman who credits Turning Point 218 with saving her life has told of how important the service is to vulnerable women amid budget cuts.
The 46-year-old, who wishes to remain anonymous, was in a "broken and desperate state" when a care manager referred her to 218, a service helping women with a range of complex needs as an alternative to going to prison.
Caught in a cycle of addiction and frequent arrests, her family had cut all ties with her before she found sobriety through the facility.
She told the Glasgow Times: "It changed my life. It saved my life. I would have been in prison or dead if it wasn't for this service."
The mother of two was struggling with an alcohol and drug addiction when she entered the service in 2015.
She said: “It was horrible. I couldn’t manage my mental health. I lost my family, I lost everything. I wasn’t even able to keep my house going.
“I was fighting for survival. I was in a toxic relationship and attracting the wrong people.
“I would be sitting in the house alone and the only time I would really see people was when alcohol was involved.
“Then I got a chance to come to 218. It was a six-month stay at the time and I didn’t want to leave.
“My mental health picked up, I felt confident, and I was quite hyper all the time because I was so grateful and happy. I was settled in here."
Now, at four years and three months sober, she has repaired relationships with her family, including her two children, and has been working at Turning Point 218 for nine months.
She said: "I absolutely love working here. I see the change in women when they come in. They feel safe, it’s so good for them.
“My job is to gradually get them settled back into the community.
"I introduce them to recovery cafes, and meetings, and get them sponsors. I also bring meetings to the building.
“I take time out with the women and help them with the 12-step program. I’m so passionate about it and I know they can do it because I’ve done it.
“I just love doing it and I just know this is where I'm meant to be, helping these women.
“The women can talk to me because they know I've got lived experience.”
It was announced on September 6 that a further £850,000 from Turning Point 218's budget would be axed, leaving the service with an "unworkable" budget of £650,000.
"I think it’s ridiculous that the money has been cut. It really is. Do they want to save lives? This is not solving the problem of what’s going on out there," she says.
She added: “There is always a waiting list. People used to be able to get bailed here and then they took the four beds away. There are four rooms lying there empty.
“The place has always been busy. As soon as someone leaves someone is in the next week.
"People are already out dying in the streets and these residential units give them a chance."
A spokesperson for Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership said: “Following a joint service review with Turning Point it was agreed the number of beds could be reduced in line with demand.
“This review was carried out earlier in the year and we have worked with Turning Point since then to reduce the number of beds from 12 to eight.”
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