Wednesday 4 June 2025
Lee Hartnell, 52, grew up in a working-class family deeply rooted in the local mining community. His early life was shaped by hardship, and strong values.
“My dad was a miner and spent all his life dedicated to the labour and trade union movement,” said Lee, who is now a volunteer with our Trust.
“I have vivid memories of having to go to local soup kitchens, as we couldn’t afford to buy food, due to my dad being involved in the 1984 miners’ strike.
“My parents brought me up with a lot of principles and morals and I feel really proud to have been part of the community spirit of the time.”
Sadly, after the death of his father and the breakdown of a significant relationship when he was 25, Lee found himself using alcohol as a coping mechanism. He said:
This was the start of a journey that would see me involved in active addiction for the next 25 years
“The local pub scene soon progressed to me going to nightclubs and being involved in the rave scene. I started taking drugs. That was my life.”
As the popularity of raves diminished in the late 1990s, Lee found himself “lost and without a sense of purpose”.
“The next 15 years were consumed by finding ways to feed my addiction. My life during these years became totally unmanageable and chaotic,” he said.
“By the end I was a broken shell. My physical health was poor, and I was struggling with my mental health, having had many episodes of drug-induced psychosis.
“My family had disowned me. I had sold everything in my flat and was using foodbanks to feed myself; I had hit rock bottom.”
Recovery journey
Finally, for the first time in 25 years, Lee admitted he had a problem. He rang his drug worker and asked for help – no longer in denial that his life was in tatters.
His admission marked a major turning point in his life and, in 2022, he entered a therapeutic community drug rehabilitation centre in Lancashire.
Following rehab, he continued his recovery at Waddington Street mental health centre in Durham – where staff encouraged him to start volunteering to help others.
His new life as a volunteer at our Trust’s Lanchester Road Hospital in Durham helped Lee feel he was “becoming a respectable member of society again”.
Volunteering was something I felt passionate about. I wanted to give back to the community; a community which had helped me so much in my recovery
Giving back to the community
Lee is now a volunteer on the Bowes Lyon ward, providing patients with emotional support, being involved in therapies, and working with them on their recovery.
“I feel so proud to be helping people in their recovery. It gives me a great sense of satisfaction, and is helping to rebuild my confidence,” he said.
I’ve grown so much in my own recovery since being involved with Lanchester Road and I feel like I’m becoming a responsible and productive member of society again
Lee’s work has inspired him to pursue an access to nursing course, which starts later this year, and his ambition is to eventually become a mental health nurse.
‘A special place in my heart’
“The best thing I’ve experienced whilst volunteering is when patients get discharged and their families thank you for everything you did for their loved one,” he said.
“It’s moments like that which make me feel so proud to be part of the amazing team of people who work on the Bowes Lyon ward.
“I would say to other people considering volunteering that it’s a great way to gain lived experience and a good way to learn about how a mental health ward is run.
“I have so much gratitude for all the team at Voluntary Services, for their advice, guidance and support, and for the team on the Bowes Lyon ward; their support is priceless to me, and they’ve got a special place in my heart.”
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