Nestled in the valleys of south Wales lies Hope Acres, a farm producing food including potatoes, cabbages and tomatoes. Set in the sleepy village of Ammanford, it’s hard to imagine that all its 80 workers are recovering drug addicts and alcoholics.
Andrew Yates, 35, was a heroin and crack cocaine addict for nearly a decade. Today, he is Hope Acres’s Horticultural Support Worker and is eager to show off their award winning first crop of chillies – which won a commendation in the True Taste Wales awards in November and were stocked by SPAR stores nationwide.
Andrew’s story is a familiar one for many at Hope Acres, which is the final stage of a year-long rehabilitation programme. Growing up in Manchester in the 70s and 80s, he says, wasn’t easy. “Most of the lads I was with are dead… jumped under a train, thrown under a train, stabbed, shot, overdosed, died in their sleep, battered to death, you name it. Just last week, an ex girlfriend of mine, her kid, he was 21, hung himself. Another kid who lived next to my mam’s house hung himself. They’re in total despair, they see it as no way out. And they buy into that drink and drug lifestyle.”
Andrew first took heroin and crack cocaine aged 21. Notably, this was the year he turned down the chance to complete a HND in Organic Agriculture to be with his then girlfriend, “For a whole ten years of my life, when I didn’t go to uni, all of that I was on drugs. A heroin addict, a crack cocaine addict, weed, everyday.”
To fund his addiction, he worked on a herb farm in Salford. He also sold crack cocaine on the side in the evenings, burying the drugs in the farm fields, and digging them up at night to sell, “Heroin was my routine. I’d have to go out selling drugs. I’d have to work away on a job…But as soon as six or seven in the morning came, I’d be knocking on the drug dealer’s door.”
As Andrew’s addiction spiralled, the circle he was moving in became increasingly dangerous and was responsible for a series of burglaries and armed robberies. He was beaten up with a hammer and had his teeth knocked out on several occasions. People he knew were getting murdered. His life became a chaotic existence, “We’d stay at this house one night and then we’d move on in the morning, and then the police would bust this house.” The effect on his parents was devastating, “They were distraught. My mam was just aging with it. And every night, if I was in a police cell, she’d be happy, because I was safe.”
After deciding to stop selling dugs because of constant police pressure, Andrew started smuggling tobacco from France, “But then we were bringing CS gas back, in the car door panels, for use in armed robberies. You spray someone with it and take whatever you want. I was mixing with dangerous people, if I did something wrong, they’d just do me in. And I was scared. I was proper scared. I didn’t want to die and I’d seen everyone die. And I thought, I’m next, my numbers up. I just looked up and said, “God, get me out of here”.”
It was at this point that Andrew met the people he credits with saving his life – street preachers from the Christian charity Victory Outreach UK, “One of the guys had a bullet hole in his chest and a bullet still lodged in his arm. He was from LA. I looked at him and I thought he looked proper ghetto gangster. But he was shining, he was brand new. I was smoking weed at the time. And the guy said to me, you don’t have to do that you know… I was involved with some bad people. I needed to get out. I thought, right I’ll go.”
Andrew went into a Victory Outreach UK treatment centre in London, “I thought, man, where am I? I rang my mam and said, “Mam, I’m in a Christian cult or something”. And she said, “Listen, Andrew, I believe you’re in the right place.” It was a faith thing for her. I stayed there, knuckled down, and got on with it.”
Afterwards, Andrew was directed to Teen Challenge UK, another Christianity based charity which helps people with addictions. Their main office and detox centre is in Gorslas, not far from Hope Acres farm. Andrew prospered there, completing a rehabilitation programme and working on the farm. He’s been an employee for two years and clean for five years, “It’s only now, where I am, that I’m learning what honour is and what respect is and what dignity is… I was a scumbag. And now I work, I pay taxes, I see my little boy, I’ve got a girlfriend and I’m in a nice place. I have a chance now to help other people’s lives, help them coming off the drugs and to give back to them.”
Find out the story behind the chillies. View more photographs of Hope Acres Farm.
To find out more about the project you can contact Project Director Mike Rankin on 01269 843 904.
