By Priscilla Chung
They come in on a Tuesday evening, heading towards a building where the chairs still remember them.
Once a month, ODAAT alumni gather in a room at St Mark’s in Oval, the same room where many first decided they wanted to live differently. ODAAT, aka One Day at a Time, a service helping men leave drugs and alcohol behind, closed in March 2024 after nearly thirty years.
However, the impact of the programme lives on.
In early 2024, a small alumni group formed almost by instinct. Could there be something, even after the doors closed, that kept the men connected, to one another, and to the version of themselves they’d discovered here?
The group meets on the second Tuesday of each month from 6–8 pm, and is open to all ODAAT alumni. Around five men come consistently. Bruce Miller, the former director of the ODAAT programme, is there, along with a psychotherapist and Michael Farrell, CEO of HOPE worldwide UK. There is tea, coffee, and a quick bite to eat.
Then they begin to “check in.”
“I have nowhere else where I can talk like this,” one man told Bruce. Others have said much the same.
Many describe this group as the only place they feel truly heard and understood. Meeting in the same room where they once began recovery offers a powerful sense of community and a reminder of how far they’ve come.
Conversations often cover every day struggles: relationships, parenting, mental health, and the comfort of hearing “I feel your pain” or “Give me a ring if you feel that way.” That empathy gives hope and reminds each person they’re not alone.
Bruce describes each meeting as “a privilege to be part of.” He thanks supporters whose generosity made ODAAT possible and whose impact lives on through every story shared. Lives that once seemed broken are healing; families are communicating again, and people who hadn’t spoken to their children for years are finding their way back to those relationships.
Though HOPE worldwide UK’s support is now smaller, its heartbeat is still here, in a circle of people who meet to support one another. It’s a testament to the courage of those who gather, and to everyone who has stood behind them, one day at a time.
