A WOMAN who slept rough and battled addiction for more than 15 years is now a volunteer at a Southend homeless charity.

Marie Edmonds, 40, first went to the Harp night shelter in York Road 17 years ago.

She returned to the shelter this year to be a resident and has now turned her life around, working as a volunteer for the charity and continuing to overcome homelessness.

She draws on her own experiences when helping the young women who visit Harp. Marie struggled with life on the streets and a drug addiction away from her children, which was made even harder by her issues with mental health.

She said: “I used to blame everybody for my using – my mum, my mum’s using, abuse as a child. I used to blame my addiction on everything else, but really I was angry at me.

“The first step of my recovery was when I started to take personal responsibility for my actions.”

Marie was admitted to a number of rehabilitation centres and mental health hospitals over the years she fought addiction. After a period away from Southend, Marie has now been clean of drugs for three years and she regularly sees her children while helping young women who have been affected by similar troubles as her.

She said: “I love volunteering because I see myself in every single one of the girls. In the groups you’ve got mental health issues and you’ve got addiction. “The group is meant to run for an hour, but it always goes on for three-and-a-half. They never want to leave.

“It is a safe place for them.”

Marie hopes that in her recovery, she is going to be able to help the women she meets to build back up their self esteem and have happy lives. She said: “I want them to feel valid and that they are enough. They all think they are worth nothing, but they are – they really are.”