Artist who battled addiction takes on new role at homeless charity Emmaus Village Carlton to help other people

An artist who has battled addiction has taken on the role of recovery worker at homelessness charity Emmaus Village Carlton, to help other people.

Geraldine Tumulty, a former alcoholic, will be supporting and guiding residents to overcome addiction at the centre and support a project which may be rolled out to other Emmaus communities.

Emmaus Village Carlton supports people with a home, individual support, including for addiction, and work experience. Residents, known as companions, gain skills and confidence with work opportunities in the community’s three charity shops, warehouse, bistro and maintenance team.

As a professional artist Geraldine has hosted successful solo ‘talking’ art exhibitions aimed at people with addiction, using her creativity to depict her battle with alcoholism and how she overcame her addiction 25 years ago.

Geraldine will now be using her ‘real life’ experience and how she overcame addition through therapy, tailored support and sheer determination to live an alcohol-free life.

She said: “I’m excited to be the first recovery worker for Emmaus Village Carlton in this brand-new post and I’m hoping it will be rolled out to more communities. I’ve actually had lived experience of addiction; I’ve been in recovery myself and have been sober since 1999. I’ve worked in this field now for 23 years.

“My challenges started at 13 when I was a teenager and I went through the care home system, residing in children’s homes, which was when I had my first experience of homelessness as a child. I used to run away from the children’s homes and sleep in derelict buildings, using alcohol to help me cope.

“I spent years needing help, going into rehabilitation, seeing a lot of therapists and doctors and had lots of stays in hospitals. My first breakthrough moment came at the age of 24 when I admitted to myself that I was an alcoholic and I needed help, but it wasn’t until I was 31 that I actually hit rock bottom; I was actually on my death bed, so there weren’t any more rock bottoms to sink to. At that point I realised that I didn’t want to die and would work to build a new life for myself.”

Thanks to this determination for a better life and the therapy received from support services, including the AA twelve-step plan, Geraldine was reunited with her children and started college to obtain the education she missed out on in childhood, gaining a Batchelors Honours Degree in Fine Art.

Geraldine then became a professional artist, touring solo exhibitions and invited addiction, alcohol and homelessness projects to get involved, such as Westminster Drug and Alcohol Project, CAN and the YMCA.

Donna-Louise Cobban, chief executive at Emmaus Village Carlton said: “We are excited and proud to welcome Geraldine to new role supporting companions with drug and alcohol dependency towards an addiction-free lifestyle.

“Geraldine is a truly inspirational person whose own remarkable life journey shows how addictions of many years can successfully be overcome and lives turned around for the better, with the right help and support.

“Already Geraldine is having a positive impact on our companions who require this support, and we hope this therapeutic model can be replicated in other communities.”

Click here to read more about Geradline’s inspirational story.