It's been a rough two months, but Robert Simmons is determined to clean up his life.

He's one of 10 men involved in the Anchorage anti-addiction program at the Gottingen Street Salvation Army.

It's the hardest thing he's ever done.

"It's really scary," he said, explaining how it feels to think of the rest of his life without drugs or alcohol.

"I'm still working on changing my whole life. Giving up the drugs and alcohol is one thing, but to change your whole life takes a lot of work."

The Cole Harbour man has been in and out of detox for the past 15 to 16 years, and served time in jail because of his addictions to alcohol, cocaine and marijuana.

The alcoholism started in his teens and it was somewhat of a family tradition.

"I come from a long line of alcoholics," he said in a phone interview.

Simmons signed up for the six-month Anchorage Program because he had had enough of the way he was living, and the "mayhem" in his life. He lost relationships, and friends and some family members don't want to talk to him anymore.

Every day, the 34-year-old electrician takes classes and one-on-one counselling. Plus, he volunteers with the Salvation Army handing out meals to the homeless.

"To be able to talk about my life experiences and the way I feel inside and not be judged or have somebody tell me, 'I know what you mean' when they don't know what you mean ... has been a big thing for me."

Sometimes, the guys in the program sit around talking until 3 a.m., supporting each other with their shared experiences.

Simmons said he almost left three times and witnessed six or seven fellow addicts check out because of temptation.

But humility, he said, is the biggest lesson he's taken from the past two months.

"I used to drive by here on the way to the bars and look out the window at the people here and say, 'God, it must be horrible being them,'" he said.

"It took a lot for me to walk in here."

by Jennifer Taplin
Reprinted by permission of The Daily News, Halifax