Zoe's Story

Zoe's Story

In 2015, Zoe was six months into her recovery when she left prison determined to build a different life. 

Her children had been taken into care, she was homeless and living in temporary accommodation alongside other people experiencing their own challenges with substance use. 

But there was one place — and one person — Zoe knew she could turn to. 

Years earlier, Elizabeth Jones, who had supported Zoe through her time at Hafan Wen, Adferiad’s former detox and rehabilitation centre in Wrexham, had made her a promise. 

If Zoe got into recovery, she would give her a chance. 

In 2015, Zoe reconnected with Hafan Wen, this time not as someone accessing treatment, but as a volunteer. 

That opportunity marked the beginning of a new chapter which would eventually see Zoe progress from volunteer to full-time member of staff, supporting people facing many of the same challenges she had once experienced herself. 

A place of safety 

Zoe's relationship with Hafan Wen stretched back much further. 

She first accessed the service in 1997, when she was just 18 years old. Over the years that followed, Zoe experienced repeated cycles of treatment, recovery and relapse. 

Throughout that time, she says Hafan Wen remained somewhere she felt safe.  

“It was an environment where I had role models like Liz and other professionals who didn't judge me. They treated me with compassion, treated me as an individual and built me up in my darkest moments, when I thought my world was shattered. 

“For me, it was always a place of safety.” 

Elizabeth, who was Zoe's key worker during her earlier experiences at Hafan Wen and later became a Service Manager, had a particularly lasting impact. 

“I wouldn't have anyone else. I always asked for Liz because she was one of those inspirational women who spoke to me on an equal level. I didn't feel belittled and she used language I understood. 

“She was stern but fair. I was quite challenging and rebellious back then, but I knew it was coming from a loving and caring place. She wanted the best for me. She wanted me to understand that I was worth more.” 

Another person Zoe credits with playing an important role throughout her journey is Dr Julian Race, who supported her not only during her time as a patient, but later as she became a member of staff and pursued her academic career. 

“Julian always showed me time and compassion,” Zoe says. “He always treated me as a human.” 

That support continued long after Zoe's time as a patient. When she later applied to university, Dr Race provided her with a character reference – another example, Zoe says, of someone who continued to believe in what she was capable of becoming. 

From receiving support to providing it 

When Zoe reconnected with Hafan Wen as a volunteer in 2015, the belief Elizabeth and others had placed in her began to translate into belief in herself. 

What started as an opportunity to volunteer grew into almost a decade of supporting others. From 2015 until leaving Adferiad in 2024, Zoe worked across a range of services and progressed from volunteer to full-time member of staff, eventually becoming a Therapeutic Lead. 

During that journey, Zoe volunteered in soup kitchens and service user groups, became involved with Full Circle and Adferiad's recovery hub at Champions House, and joined outreach work supporting people experiencing homelessness. 

She also worked across services including Cyfle Cymru, criminal justice and recovery support. 

For Zoe, however, Adferiad's support didn't end when she stopped being a service user. 

“The nurturing I received from Adferiad was as a patient and as a member of staff,” she says. 

“I was like a little seed that needed watering and sunlight. I needed that guidance. I was told that I deserved better and that I was capable of living a life that was so far removed from the life I was living when I first went into Hafan Wen. 

“When I started volunteering, Liz and other members of staff always reminded me that I wasn't the same person I had been. My addiction, my failures and my shortcomings didn't define me. They told me I could make something of my life and that I was worthy.” 

As Zoe began adjusting to a professional environment, she says staff recognised the lack of confidence and self-esteem she carried with her and helped her work through it. 

“They took the time to listen and guide me. They gave me responsibility to increase my confidence. 

Becoming the woman she is today 

After leaving Adferiad in 2024, Zoe continued the journey that had begun with that first volunteering opportunity. 

She went on to complete her BA (Hons) in Social Work at Wrexham University and became a children's social worker. 

In December 2025, Zoe received the Emmett Roberts Award, in recognition of her achievements on the BA (Hons) Social Work: Qualified Status programme. 

“I was just being me,” Zoe says. “I didn't think I was doing anything special or going above and beyond. 

“The qualities I held were in my listening, my nurturing and speaking to people on a level. My focus was always on the people I was working with. 

“It holds a special place in my heart that the people I worked with recognised me in that way.” 

Her life away from work has transformed too. 

Zoe has maintained her own home for more than a decade, rebuilt relationships with her family and had two of her children return to live with her. She has also played an active role in Wrexham's recovery community. 

But when Zoe is asked what she is most proud of today, she doesn't choose her degree, career or awards. 

“The woman that I see in the mirror,” she says. 

“Before 2015, when I came out of jail, the only thing that followed my name was a prison number. There were all these terms that society labelled me with — criminal, junkie, smack-head, failure, chronic relapse. 

“Society gives these labels to people and gives them this stigma. But when I look back today, I'm most proud of the woman I am now. 

“I see a person who has her children back in her life, who has had her own accommodation for 11 years and who has a BA Honours degree. 

“I'm proud that Adferiad has been hand in hand with me on that journey.” 

And if Zoe could go back to 1997 and speak to the 18-year-old who first walked through the doors of Hafan Wen, she knows exactly what she would tell her: 

“I see you. I hear you. And I understand you.”