By Sarah Curran
AN inspirational suicide survivor hopes to help those struggling with addiction by telling his story of recovery.
Conlig man Rory Sloan is set to launch his own mental health service ResoluteM;nds next month, aimed at helping young people avoid the same situations he once found himself in.
At a free event being held at the Culloden Estate and Spa on May 15, 23 year-old Rory, who has been sober for a year this weekend, will speak about his own struggles with substance abuse, in the hope of helping others find recovery.
Rory, who has served time in prison for his past, recalled how he began struggling with his own mental health and substance abuse at just 14 years-old.
He said: “Growing up I was from a good family. My mum and dad had never been around drugs or anything like that and I played golf at a high level when I was younger. I went to a great school – so I’m not the normal kind of person I suppose to have got caught up in this type of thing.”
In his school years, Rory felt as though he didn’t fit in and began keeping company with ‘the wrong crowd’.
“I started to get involved with drinking and taking drugs,” he added.
Rory left school and after a failed course at a college, he became a personal trainer – a job which he loved.
Working full-time and preparing for his first body-building show, Rory cleaned up his act, but when the pandemic hit, the competition was cancelled and he became unemployed.
Rory recalled this hit on his personal life was devastating. He said: “I developed an eating disorder, I was drinking every day and then I developed a cocaine addiction.
“I was caught up in the wrong crowd essentially and I just went down a path of drug addiction, severe mental health issues and I got caught up in criminality.”
Rory was incarcerated just after his 21st birthday for a period of time.
On his release, Rory became reclusive from his family and missed a number of special occasions including his mother’s 50th birthday.
Rory said his parents are very supportive and that he rebuilt a relationship with them during the two years it took for his court case to conclude.
While Rory felt strongly that he did not want to return to a life of crime, he battled on with addiction issues and sought out help from charity Alternative, noting how lengthy NHS waiting lists were for similar help.
Alternative helped Rory begin therapy and in just a few short sessions he was already seeing the benefits.
“They put me through a restorative programme which helped me realise that what I was doing wasn’t just hurting me and my family, but how I was hurting the community and other people’s families,” he continued.
Rory’s passion soon grew to help others facing the same hardships he has and so he began volunteering for Alternative, and soon noticed a gap for those struggling with mental health.
With help from mentor entrepreneur Tom Smyth, Rory felt motivated to host an event whereby he could launch his own mental health service and retell his experience.
“I really wanted something that I could put 24 hours of every day into helping people,” Rory said.
Rory hopes to launch his mental health service at the event next month, noting that it will operate both online and in-person – with details fully explained at the free launch event.
“The goal of the service is to help people make that first step,” he said, adding that he hopes that referrals to the service could potentially help shorten current waiting lists.
Ards and North Down councillor, Lauren Kendall said she was inspired by Rory’s story.
“Now a One Young World Leader, Rory has resolved to use his personal experiences to change the futures of other young people,” she said.
“He encourages young people to learn from the lived-experiences of those who have struggled with addiction and asks people to support him on his journey to help save the lives of future generations.
“Across Northern Ireland, we have reached a drugs and addiction crisis. According to Drug Deaths Taskforce NI, in recent years, drug deaths have increased to being one of the highest figures in Europe. We must do all we can to help those experiencing addiction, to support recovery, and to prevent drugs from ruining people’s lives.”
To sign up to Rory’s free launch event, visit: www.eventbrite.com/e/861361163427?aff=oddtdtcreator
