Shaun's story

Shaun is electrical engineer who lost everything when his drinking spiralled out of control.

Shaun Murphy says the local Salvation Army saved his life and without its help he wouldn’t be here today.

The 59-year-old worked and travelled all over the world in places such as South Africa and Saudi but he couldn’t beat his alcohol addiction.

He said: “I was very young, just 16, when I started drinking. I was an electrician by trade and working away from home. There was a lot of encouragement for me to drink when I was working overseas. There was no permanence for me.

“I was in relationships but they broke down, because of the nature of my work and because of my drinking. It was a vicious circle.”

In his mid-20s Shaun progressed his career and gained an HND in electrical engineering and acquired positions at home and abroad but could not settle.

He said: “I had really good jobs but I couldn’t see them through.”

On a bad day he could down a bottle of whisky or vodka.

He said: “I was absolutely wasted. It had a terrible affect on me mentally, physically and spiritually. I had no hope.”

The turning point came when Shaun lost a flat he had in England and was living rough.

He sought help from a homeless unit who suggested he move to Scotland to get the help he needed. He took their advice and came up to Edinburgh in 2006 but fared no better there. Then the Salvation Army said he should try their rehab unit at Fewster House in Greenock — and at last he found recovery.

He said: “They ran a 12-step programme of complete abstinence. It saved my life.

I would have probably ended up dead if it hadn’t been for Fewster House. I needed the support and I couldn’t get it anywhere else.”

Shaun stayed at Fewster until it closed and then a floating support service helped him secure a flat in High Street.

He’s now enjoying his life of sobriety in his new home town and his mum also moved here in 2013 after his father died.

He said: “I like the friendliness of the people. I like the scenery and the walks along the Esplanade, the Clyde Estuary and the view of the Argyll hills. It’s total peace.” 

SNP MSP praises Salvation Army's Scottish Election 2016 film project

A Salvation Army film project has been giving people at risk of being made homelessness the chance to quiz politicians on the issues affecting them.

Service users at The Salvation Army's Greenock Floating Support Service – which provides housing support to adults with addiction issues – got the chance to come up with some questions for local SNP MSP Stuart McMillan.

The event was the latest part of The Salvation Army's Scottish Election 2016 film project – a series of short films that will be used to highlight the main political parties’ responses to issues highlighted by the church and charity's frontline services. The issues are: drug and alcohol misuse, homelessness, employability, older people, and debt. The series of short films will be released on social media in the weeks before the Scottish Election on May 5, 2016.

Leaders and representatives from the five main political parties have accepted an invitation to visit a frontline Salvation Army service that deals with one of the issues in the films.




Stuart McMillan, MSP for West Scotland, said: "As the SNP representative in The Salvation Army's film project, it has been a hugely interesting experience.

“I'm well aware of the wide range of services The Salvation Army provides in Greenock and across Scotland. I've always been greatly impressed by this work and I know that it genuinely helps people get their lives back so they can contribute in a positive way to society.
"The public sector can't solve every single issue and this is where organisations like The Salvation Army have a huge part to play in our communities."

Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Roberts, The Salvation Army's Assistant to the Secretary for Scotland, said: "This is a great opportunity for The Salvation Army and our service users to ask the questions that matter. For example, one issue that has come up among our service users is the availability of sustainable tenancies for vulnerable adults.


“It has all the hallmarks of being an interesting discussion and everyone at The Salvation Army is looking forward to it.”



One service user who got to put a question to the MSP was Shaun Murphy. Shaun has been with The Salvation Army since 2007, starting out at its former Fewster House service in Greenock before being supported into his own flat.

Shaun asked Mr McMillan if the Scottish Government would consider banning alcohol advertising in public. Mr McMillan replied that the matter was a reserved issue for Westminster but added that the Scottish Government would continue to press the UK government to do more around marketing and advertising.

Shaun said: "It was good to be able to put our questions to Mr McMillan. I'm pleased to be able to take part in this kind of thing with The Salvation Army because I wouldn't be alive without their support over the years.


"I'm originally from Lincolnshire but now I've made a life for myself in Greenock. So much so that when my dad died in 2013 my mum moved up to live permanently. Now we both go to The Salvation Army's church service every Sunday."

Pause for thought

To conclude our posts about Greenock, Lynn the Salvation Army Officer at Greenock brings us a pause for thought.

..Lynn, Salvation Army Officer, Greenock

I have just completed an insurance renewal form that asked me to confirm the value of my most important possessions and those that were to be put on the all-risk category.  It got me thinking about Value and Security

What are  your most valuable possessions – a mobile phone, your TV, your home?

Yet, are not our most valuable things in life often what money cannot buy – friendship, family,  being part of community life at the Salvation Army, the love and respect of those who know us well, the inner satisfaction of a day well lived?

For me personally it is also the real assurance within my heart that through Jesus Christ I have the unfading hope of everlasting life.

No circumstances can take God and His love away from me – they are not at risk! 

If you are a Christian, in Him is security now and forever.

Do you have this “blessed assurance”?

John 1:3 says, “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us.  And our fellowship is with the Father and with his son, Jesus Christ.”  Want to know more? Then contact us.