From a homeless drug addict to anti-trafficking charity operations coordinator
Deb Noble is operations co-ordinator for South Yorkshire at City Hearts, the Sheffield-headquartered charity which works with victims of trafficking and modern-day slavery.
Deb has an incredible story to tell.
She tried cannabis in her late teens and became a regular user when she met her boyfriend. Together they developed a heavy habit. They ended up marrying, but most of their relationship was spent in a haze of drugs.
Deb went on to use cocaine and speed, ended up losing her job as a bathroom designer, became homeless, living in a tent in the woods and suffered a succession of mental breakdowns. She was desperately unhappy, emaciated and thought her life would never be anything else.
Deb is now 41 and completely unrecognisable from the young woman whose life spiralled so out of control.
She had grown up in the church but had walked away at 18. At the age of 30, in 2008, she turned to her faith for help.
She says: "I surrendered my life to God. My mum helped me find a place at City Hearts on a rehab programme. I was there for seven months from January 2009 and it transformed my life.
I work as the South Yorkshire region operations coordinator for City Hearts. My day-to-day role involves helping facilitate the smooth running of the region.
"This includes overseeing the finances for South Yorkshire, HR administration, inducting new staff members, our IT, projects and assisting the regional manager. Before becoming a Christian, I was a bathroom designer by day and a party animal by night. I lived a double life with a secret drug dependency, which I hid from my family and family friends.
"I grew up in a Christian household after my parents’ marriage broke down when I was three. My mum started taking me and my older sister to church then, but at 18 I decided church wasn’t for me and I walked away. I finally gave my life to God in 2008, following 15 years of drug abuse and a seven-year battle with mental breakdowns.
"My Christian faith is foundational to my life. It has not only carried me through the daily challenges of life, it has also freed me from many life-controlling issues including drug addiction, pain through broken relationships and mental health challenges.
"In 2008 my double lives collided, and my drug addiction directly affected my family. Within a few months of this I found myself living in a tent in a local woods.
"I’d lost my job, my home and my family were working in crisis mode to try and help me. After a few months I was allowed home. By this time, I was grey in pallor, underweight, I’d shaved my head (my hair was the only part of me I liked) and was taking drugs 24/7.
"One night I asked God if he was real, to take this drug addiction away and that if he did, I would give my heart to him. I remember at the time thinking it would truly be a miracle if he could do anything with my heart as it was so broken. I couldn’t trust anyone and didn’t know how to be in a healthy relationship.
"But I surrendered my heart and within a week I was clean from drugs and didn’t have a mental breakdown. It felt like a grey cloud had been lifted off me - I felt free! I then started the process of looking for a rehabilitation programme. My faith has been an integral part of my life ever since. So much so, I came to a Christian rehab, graduated seven months later and did two years of bible college."
In the past five years, City Hearts have supported over 3000 people through their safehouses, long-term support and integration programmes.
To find out more about their services, visit https://cityhearts.co.uk/
Full media pack with quotes, case studies and statistics available on request, email press@cityhearts.co.uk
Press release issued on behalf of City Hearts by Keep Your Fork Marketing and PR. For more information or to request an interview, contact our MD Faye Smith on 07985 038265 faye@keepyourfork.co.uk Jo Davison on 07904 976101 Jo@keepyourfork.co.uk or contact City Hearts communications officer Kate Partlow on 07936 349914 Kate.Partlow@cityhearts.co.uk
EDITORS’ NOTES
UK charity City Hearts is nationally recognised as being at the forefront of the fight for long-term support for men, women and children freed from modern slavery or human trafficking.
There are an estimated 40.3 million people being trafficked into modern slavery across the globe - and at least 13,000 in the UK.
Finding and freeing the victims is only the beginning of the story. Many survivors are left with emotional scars, which can lead to a life of dependency and battles with life-controlling issues.
Since launching in Sheffield in 2005, its teams have restored the lives and the freedom of 3,000 people over the past 14 years.
City Hearts has expanded across the UK and grown its team to over 175 at bases in Sheffield, Liverpool, Scotland and Sunderland.
Victims of trafficking are brought from all over the UK to the charity’s nine safe houses and specialist teams provide ongoing help to restore their health and confidence, and their ability to live independently.
City Hearts now offers support services in the Netherlands and Germany, child support programmes in Africa and a programme supporting ex-offenders into permanent employment.
City Hearts in numbers:
Over the past five years, City Hearts have supported over 3,000 men, women and children.
750 have been helped by the charity’s Safe House programme.
1,950 are receiving help and support from the charity’s Outreach Programmes.
260 survivors have transitioned from City Hearts safe houses into the community through the charity’s Integration Support Programme.
42 survivors have been supported into work through the Bright Future employment programme, which is partnered by the Co-op and City Hearts.
80 women with life-controlling issues such as alcohol or drug addiction, OCD and eating disorders, as a result of being forced into modern slavery, have been cared for in residential programme.
100 children have been mentored in the charity’s African Child Partnership programme, which is working in communities to reduce the risk of children being exploited.