Addicted Parents

Episode
Episode Two - Families
Broadcast Info
2017 (59 mins)
Description
In a large house in Sheffield, 12 families live together. But Phoenix Futures’ Specialist Family Service is no ordinary house. And these are no ordinary families. This is the only family rehab in the UK; a place where parents addicted to drugs or alcohol come with their children to change their lives, and determine their futures. They have six months to get clean, and prove that they can parent their children. It is their last chance to keep them.
Filmed over a year, with unprecedented access to staff and residents, this two-part series follows several families from the beginning to the end of their treatment. They arrive as a family unit; whether they leave as one is up to them.
This second film tells the story of one young couple facing an uphill battle to overcome their addiction to heroin so they can leave rehab with their two-year-old son. The choice is clear: drugs or their child. As we follow them through detox and recovery at this unique place, we discover what it takes for them to change. Micky and Faye have been together for years but all that time they’ve been addicted to heroin. Now though, they have a son, and they have to get clean or lose him for good. Micky is determined that no one will take his boy. But he’s not prepared for the huge challenge ahead and despite his determination, he struggles. As Faye battles with her detox, Micky has an even harder choice to make: his partner and the life they had, or a new life as a single dad, without drugs, but with his son. This is the intimate story of a family who have only experienced their adult lives as addicts. Now, they have to see if they’re compatible without drugs. And over 8 months of treatment, Micky begins to realise the effect his drug use has had on his son.
This is the story of an extraordinary transformation - from addict to parent. In a unique therapeutic community, addicted families share one house. Recovering together, confronting addiction together and facing their own and each other’s problems every single day, this is the toughest challenge of their lives.
This rehab believes these parents deserve a second chance. 79% of families complete the programme. Following 8 months of treatment, we discover whether one family with years of addiction behind them can change the drug habit of a lifetime - and keep their son.
Genre
Health & Social Care; https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ou/search/search.php?genre=59

How to cite this record

The Open University, "Addicted Parents". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ou/search/index.php/prog/228313 (Accessed 10 Jan 2025)