REAL LIFE: Lewis is waiting for the gas man
 Lewis, 35, has made an incredible journey, from growing up on one of the most troubled estates of north London and a life of crime and drugs to, within two years, complete rehabilitation and a new career as a drugs counsellor.
One of the most significant changes in Lewis has been his ability to open up about himself. "As a kid, we didn't talk at home, not at all. We didn't talk, we didn't give. It was just take, take. It seemed the only way to survive.
"My life in London was chaotic, all over the place. I was in and out of prison many times, but that was nothing more than a break from life on the streets. In prison I got a bed, free meals, and the drugs I wanted. There was no incentive to change. I'd just go back and do it all again."
Three years ago, Lewis was sentenced once again, but this time something was different: "The prison drugs worker really stuck to me. She just kept coming back, not giving up on me. She suggested I leave London and arranged for me to go into rehab when I got out. She wrote a really powerful letter in support of me; I guess that triggered something in me to really get help."
Instead of returning to his usual routine, Lewis found himself in a Norfolk treatment centre on a six-month programme to deal with his drug and alcohol addictions: "I was broken - mentally, emotionally and spiritually, and they helped to rebuild me," he said.
Leaving treatment, he decided against returning to London, and was able to get accommodation at the YMCA hostel in Norwich. He was clean, but still vulnerable. "It was quite hard to start with. I was afraid I'd drift back. But I got through it. Meeting other addicts in recovery helped in the end. I found I could talk to them; I knew what they were going through. And I thought, 'I'm never going back to that.'" Lewis has been completely free of drugs for two years.
Lewis' new-found desire to help others is something he names as part of his spiritual recovery from the past. He now works as a volunteer at the treatment centre where he himself was treated, and has completed an introductory course in counselling at the University of East Anglia. "Until three years ago I had never ever sat down and talked about anything. Now I'm training and working as a listener. It's a total turnaround."
Lewis recently moved out of the YMCA into his new flat and has much to do. He's a man in a hurry, driven nowadays not to score drugs or escape his enemies, but just to get back in time for the gas man.
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