0:00:04 > 0:00:08In the '90s, Wales faced an explosion of social issues.
0:00:08 > 0:00:13From drink and drugs to disability rights and teen mums,
0:00:13 > 0:00:17they were to test the strength of many men and women.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22I think it just makes you more active and proactive,
0:00:22 > 0:00:26and we called ourselves the last of the civil rights movements.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31My daughter was in my arms and I just grew up, just like that.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34In a way, it was as if to say, this is my responsibility now.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38I was able to pass on my experience of addiction
0:00:38 > 0:00:41because you tell them how it felt for you.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45And when you see people who've got well, it's an achievement.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48This is the story of people who overcame
0:00:48 > 0:00:50extreme personal challenges.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54Through sheer willpower, they changed their lives for good.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04The '90s was a decade of change
0:01:04 > 0:01:07in some of the major social issues in Wales.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10Recreational use of drink and drugs
0:01:10 > 0:01:13became prevalent throughout the nation.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17Teenage pregnancy, once the shame of family and neighbours,
0:01:17 > 0:01:19was the highest in Europe.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22And disabled people were starting to fight for their rights.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30Disabled people had had equal access to recreational
0:01:30 > 0:01:34and educational services since the 1970s.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38But by the early '90s, they still had no legal protection
0:01:38 > 0:01:40against discrimination.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43Activists wanted that to change.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47Rosie Moriarty-Simmonds was born with severe impairments
0:01:47 > 0:01:49which affected her limbs
0:01:49 > 0:01:53after her mother took the drug thalidomide during pregnancy.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58Instead of arms, Rosie has four fingers, and she cannot walk.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04She got a degree in psychology and applied for many jobs,
0:02:04 > 0:02:07but felt she was always turned down because of her disability.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11And even when an offer did come,
0:02:11 > 0:02:15it was withdrawn because of her access requirements.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19I think I cried for three days, then I got angry,
0:02:19 > 0:02:23then I got frustrated again, then I got angry again.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25And then I thought, this is absolutely ridiculous.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27Somebody has to give me a break.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29And eventually I did get a break,
0:02:29 > 0:02:31but I can see how some people give up.
0:02:31 > 0:02:36And I've always felt that I'm lucky, I can speak for myself,
0:02:36 > 0:02:39so if I can speak for myself, I should also be speaking for
0:02:39 > 0:02:42and advocating for those who can't.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45I think it just makes you more active and proactive,
0:02:45 > 0:02:47and you want to go out and make change.
0:02:47 > 0:02:52I think it was at that stage that I kind of became the bossy little,
0:02:52 > 0:02:55feisty little madam that I've grown up to be.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02Though eventually Rosie found a job in the civil service,
0:03:02 > 0:03:06her interest in disability politics led to a complete career change.
0:03:07 > 0:03:13The real political activism for me happened in the early '90s,
0:03:13 > 0:03:16when there was no anti-discrimination legislation
0:03:16 > 0:03:19and I was getting more and more involved.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23I retrained, did a home journalism course,
0:03:23 > 0:03:27also getting involved in disability equality training
0:03:27 > 0:03:29and campaigning.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32You had DAN, who were the Direct Action Network.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34You had Disability Wales
0:03:34 > 0:03:38and you had the Cardiff and Vale Coalition of Disabled People.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42And we would hold demonstrations fighting for legislation,
0:03:42 > 0:03:44particularly in Wales.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47What I would teach within disability equality training
0:03:47 > 0:03:51would be to the social model of disability,
0:03:51 > 0:03:55but the world in which we lived was the medical model of disability.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58And the difference between the two is that the medical model
0:03:58 > 0:04:03looks at the disabled person and sees them as the problem,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06whereas the social model of disability
0:04:06 > 0:04:09turns it completely on its head and looks at society.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12And it says it's society that's the problem,
0:04:12 > 0:04:16and it's society that has to change to accommodate
0:04:16 > 0:04:19and include disabled people.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25There were so many issues that needed to be addressed.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Everything from disabled people and employment,
0:04:31 > 0:04:35education, access to transport, access to information,
0:04:35 > 0:04:38and that's why disabled people had to stand up
0:04:38 > 0:04:40and fight for these rights.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46So trying to get members of society to understand that,
0:04:46 > 0:04:51we'd hold demonstrations in London, you know, march up Whitehall,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55start off in Trafalgar Square, bring the traffic to a standstill.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59We called ourselves the last of the civil rights movements.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03- What do we want?- Civil rights! - When do we want them?- Now!
0:05:03 > 0:05:06So the more radical the activities,
0:05:06 > 0:05:08the more press coverage you would get.
0:05:08 > 0:05:13And then you would get society, hopefully, asking questions.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15And then through the education route,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18people like myself would come along and answer those questions.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24In 1995, the campaigners got a result
0:05:24 > 0:05:27when the Disability Discrimination Act was established
0:05:27 > 0:05:29to improve the rights of disabled people.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35For the first time it would be unlawful for employers
0:05:35 > 0:05:38to discriminate against someone on grounds of disability.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45I believe that it was very successful,
0:05:45 > 0:05:49because as a result of having the legislation
0:05:49 > 0:05:51some people who would not have bothered,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54suddenly found that they had to make change,
0:05:54 > 0:05:59and certainly, as far as employment and education and service provision,
0:05:59 > 0:06:03it's made huge differences for disabled people.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16In the late '90s, music, magazines and the internet
0:06:16 > 0:06:19were a magnetic attraction for young people,
0:06:19 > 0:06:21and the reason was sex.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25But growing numbers of teenagers having underage sex
0:06:25 > 0:06:29led to more schoolgirl mums in Wales than anywhere in western Europe.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33The stories behind the headlines
0:06:33 > 0:06:35were often due to poor sex education.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39Some were due to troubled family circumstances.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43The most troubled of all were those who suffered sexual abuse
0:06:43 > 0:06:44as children.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48Samantha Yemm grew up with her brother and two sisters
0:06:48 > 0:06:50near Newport.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55When I was round about five years old, my mum worked quite a lot,
0:06:55 > 0:06:58she was in the butchers trade at that time.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01So my mum worked a lot, my dad worked a lot.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03He worked with the funeral home.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05So, come the summer holidays and things like that,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08it was very hard for my mum to get a sitter
0:07:08 > 0:07:12so we ended up going to my Grancha's house quite a lot.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15And my Grancha was our main carer at that time.
0:07:16 > 0:07:21But unbeknown to Samantha's parents, her grandfather, Grancha,
0:07:21 > 0:07:24was sexually abusing her and her older sister.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28When I was five, that's when it started.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Erm, I can remember everything up until...
0:07:33 > 0:07:35..maybe the age of seven.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37And I've blanked everything out since then,
0:07:37 > 0:07:41cos it was sexual intercourse.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47As Samantha grew older,
0:07:47 > 0:07:51the opportunities for her grandfather's abuse became fewer,
0:07:51 > 0:07:53until they ceased altogether.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03For Samantha, like many young teenage girls and boys,
0:08:03 > 0:08:06secondary school discos were like a rite of passage.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09It seems natural that here,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12sexual feelings were aroused for the first time.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14Obviously, you go into the big school,
0:08:14 > 0:08:16and it's like, oh, my God, boys, boys, boys.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19You know, proper teenage, proper girl.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22And I didn't feel at that time I was a really attractive person,
0:08:22 > 0:08:23because, to me, I wasn't.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27It was, like, "Oh, a boy's interested in me." "Hi", sort of thing.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33When Samantha was 14, she began going out with an older boy.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37Though she suppressed the memories of her grandfather's abuse,
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Samantha had mixed feelings about sex with her boyfriend
0:08:40 > 0:08:42for the first time.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44David was very charming.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48Erm...he was a very attractive boy.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51He looked a bit like Tom Cruise!
0:08:51 > 0:08:53He had the smile.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56But the first day I had sexual intercourse with David,
0:08:56 > 0:09:00erm, it didn't feel abnormal.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02I wasn't frightened. I wasn't scared.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06But I felt that regardless of what happened with my grandfather
0:09:06 > 0:09:08I still needed that male figure,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11because that's what was going to cure me.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15I always felt that I was missing that, kind of, interaction, maybe,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18of a sexual relationship.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23So being with David and actually having sex with him
0:09:23 > 0:09:26that very first time was like a connection for me,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30as though, OK, I'm not going to let him go now because he's mine.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33And because he was showing me some kind of attention
0:09:33 > 0:09:35that made me whole as a person.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40He made me feel wanted, loved, and he cared for me quite a lot.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42And, erm...
0:09:43 > 0:09:47I don't know, we just clicked, and it was what I was looking for,
0:09:47 > 0:09:48I thought.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53But the young couple made no attempt to use contraception.
0:10:01 > 0:10:07For a lot of people in the '90s, drinking was full-on.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12Bingeing by both sexes became the fashion amongst the young.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17But the reasons that led some to extreme drinking
0:10:17 > 0:10:19were often personal.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25It increased the chance of alcohol dependency,
0:10:25 > 0:10:29especially for those vulnerable to psychological issues.
0:10:34 > 0:10:40In Newport, for example, 40% of men drank more than was safe for health.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52Mike McNamara was lead singer with Big Mac's Wholly Soul Band
0:10:52 > 0:10:53based in the city.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59I loved all that type of music so it was great to be able to do,
0:10:59 > 0:11:03to, sort of, emulate all those heroes of mine, you know?
0:11:03 > 0:11:08Sam Cook and Wilson Pickett and all that sort of early gutsy soul.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11And because there's so much excitement,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14everybody just gets into the spirit of it and wants to dance.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16# I feel good
0:11:17 > 0:11:19# I knew that I should... #
0:11:19 > 0:11:21But there was a problem.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Mike needed to drink in order to boost his self-confidence
0:11:24 > 0:11:25when performing.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30There was a certain point with the booze,
0:11:30 > 0:11:33where it enabled you to do the job without the fear.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38But once I started drinking, I couldn't stop.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41You felt good about yourself. You felt you could talk to people.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43You felt you could communicate with people.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45You could get on great with people.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48All of a sudden, you know, the shackles were thrown off,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50and so you think to yourself,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53I like that, I'll have a bit more of that.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55And then, eventually, it takes over.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58And it ruins you. Destroys you.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02I can remember falling out of the car at one gig,
0:12:02 > 0:12:04and we'd been drinking 2020...
0:12:05 > 0:12:08..special brew and the show was dreadful.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11My wife was there and she said, you were terrible.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13Erm...
0:12:14 > 0:12:17But I thought I was great. I thought I was great that night.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20And I was dreadful. Singing out of tune, didn't...
0:12:20 > 0:12:22You know, I wasn't aware of what was going on,
0:12:22 > 0:12:24what the band was playing or anything.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31In 1996, Mike's drinking reached crisis point.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36I'd been drinking all night, I got a bottle of white wine
0:12:36 > 0:12:39from behind the bar to go home with
0:12:39 > 0:12:43and I'm lying in bed at four o'clock in the morning, wide awake,
0:12:43 > 0:12:46and my wife turns around, she looked at me,
0:12:46 > 0:12:48and I could see the look of despair.
0:12:49 > 0:12:54At this moment, Mike realised he needed to reach out for help.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01In the '90s, police busts of drug dealers were rising.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03- Police officers!- Police!
0:13:05 > 0:13:08Addiction could cost users over £100 a day,
0:13:08 > 0:13:10often funded by crime.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14And their family lives were reduced to chaos.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20Brian Morris was in it up to his neck.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22A drug dealer, addicted to heroin.
0:13:23 > 0:13:28He lived in Amsterdam with his partner, who was also hooked.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32Their six-week-old baby boy was treated for the addiction.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36I owed Turkish heroin dealers quite a lot of money
0:13:36 > 0:13:41and they proposed a deal for me to make that money
0:13:41 > 0:13:45by smuggling a kilo of cocaine to Wales.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47Then I'd be able to pay them back.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51I wasn't going to do it ever again, because this baby arrived, you know.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53I brought an addicted child into the world.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55That was so shameful.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00But we had the baby for two weeks and the Turkish dealers came round
0:14:00 > 0:14:04and they were threatening so I could have lost my life.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06or they could have hurt any of us,
0:14:06 > 0:14:08so I agreed to do this deal.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11In December 1995,
0:14:11 > 0:14:15Brian travelled to Swansea to sell a kilo of cocaine.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19One last deal to pay off his debts.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23He was trying to come off heroin and was suffering withdrawal symptoms
0:14:23 > 0:14:26as he waited in a hotel room with another dealer.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29I was going through cold turkey.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33Hot and cold sweats and stomachaches.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36I wasn't feeling very well at all.
0:14:36 > 0:14:41And it was about 12 noon when suddenly the door burst open.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44"This is a raid! This is the police! Don't move!"
0:14:44 > 0:14:46With guns pointed at us.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50Then I had thoughts going through my head, I'll get ten years for this.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53My son is not going to see me...
0:14:53 > 0:14:55..at all any more.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00Brian was arrested and taken into custody.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02His plans for the future blown away.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06But then, at this moment of despair,
0:15:06 > 0:15:09he felt his life change for the better.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13The next day, while I was in the police station cell,
0:15:13 > 0:15:15I just cried out to God to help.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20Then, this little voice came into my head and, not audibly,
0:15:20 > 0:15:22just like an impression...
0:15:23 > 0:15:27"You can use this, Brian, to change your life.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30"You can use this time. You can get educated.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33"And you can turn it round."
0:15:33 > 0:15:35And just a warmth came over me,
0:15:35 > 0:15:37and I felt hopeful,
0:15:37 > 0:15:40the despair and fear left me.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45And from that moment I decided it's high time now
0:15:45 > 0:15:47that you gave your life to God,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50because he's been knocking on your heart for years,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53but you've clouded it with drugs for so long.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04Rosie Moriarty-Simmonds never let her disability compromise her life.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10She married her husband Stephen in 1988.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13He was also thalidomide impaired.
0:16:13 > 0:16:18And like many couples, they were thrilled at starting a family.
0:16:20 > 0:16:25A disabled person to bring up a child, even in the 1990s,
0:16:25 > 0:16:26was quite rare.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Because...
0:16:28 > 0:16:32you weren't seen as being capable of doing it.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35You weren't seen as being able to organise your own childcare
0:16:35 > 0:16:37or your own child support.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40And there were so many people that surprised me
0:16:40 > 0:16:44by their attitude towards that - "Well, how are you going to manage?"
0:16:44 > 0:16:49But it was our decision to have a child, our choice to have a child,
0:16:49 > 0:16:51our right to have a child,
0:16:51 > 0:16:55and nobody was going to stop us from doing that.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00Being a mum was absolutely fantastic
0:17:00 > 0:17:04and I was determined to do as much as I could for James myself.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07I would pick James up from his cot in a mouthful of baby grow,
0:17:07 > 0:17:11with my teeth, carry him through to the kitchen,
0:17:11 > 0:17:13lie him on the kitchen table flat,
0:17:13 > 0:17:17hold the bottle in my fingers like that, and feed him that way.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20And instinct is quite incredible, I think,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23because if anybody else was changing his nappy
0:17:23 > 0:17:25he'd be a right little wriggly eel,
0:17:25 > 0:17:29but, instinctively, when I was doing it, he would know not to move.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34While bringing up her son James,
0:17:34 > 0:17:39Rosie worked hard developing her consultancy on disability issues.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41It was a busy time.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44But as she adapted to new situations,
0:17:44 > 0:17:48Rosie drew inspiration from her own mother's attitude to life.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53- How old is she?- Two and a half.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58My mum, being busy and active,
0:17:58 > 0:18:02was something that just seemed to be natural with her.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04I think that I've inherited it.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08And coming from the kind of childhood that I had,
0:18:08 > 0:18:12constantly being told you can do whatever you want,
0:18:12 > 0:18:14you can be whatever you want.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18But you've got to instigate it.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25You run your business, you raise your family,
0:18:25 > 0:18:28and I did an awful lot of voluntary work.
0:18:28 > 0:18:29But I thrived on it.
0:18:29 > 0:18:35You felt empowered, you felt you were really making change,
0:18:35 > 0:18:37and it felt real.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40It was real, you know, at long last.
0:18:40 > 0:18:45You know, what you wanted was actually happening.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50In 2015, Rosie was awarded an OBE
0:18:50 > 0:18:55for her services to the equality and rights of disabled people.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00# Wake me up before you go go
0:19:00 > 0:19:03# Don't leave me hanging on like a yo-yo... #
0:19:03 > 0:19:08In the late '90s, research among 13 to 15-year-olds in Wales
0:19:08 > 0:19:13showed 32% of boys and 39% of girls
0:19:13 > 0:19:17claimed they had had sex by the age of 14.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22Samantha Yemm was still with her boyfriend David at 15.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26They used no contraception in their sexual relationship.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30Yet Samantha was surprised when she discovered
0:19:30 > 0:19:33she was going to have a baby.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37The day came when she broke the news of her pregnancy to her mother.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40Instead of telling my mum face-to-face,
0:19:40 > 0:19:43I wrote this really big long letter
0:19:43 > 0:19:46and explained to her, you know, that I'm truly sorry, erm...
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Sorry.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55I'm sorry, you know, I'm pregnant.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58And I told her how far gone I was in this letter.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04And my mum's face just dropped after she read this letter.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08It was absolutely heartbreaking knowing that I'd disappointed my mum
0:20:08 > 0:20:12in a way that she didn't want me to ruin my childhood.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16I can understand why and, you know, she was scared for me
0:20:16 > 0:20:18more than anything.
0:20:20 > 0:20:25The late '90s marked a high point in teenage pregnancies in Wales
0:20:25 > 0:20:28with over 6,000 a year recorded.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34Samantha received no sex education from her parents
0:20:34 > 0:20:36and was already seven months pregnant
0:20:36 > 0:20:39by the time her school gave a class on the subject.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46She was 16 when her baby was born.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50She got a lot of support from her mother and grandmother
0:20:50 > 0:20:54but it was still a life-changing moment for her.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59I grew up pretty quick, as soon as my daughter was in my arms,
0:20:59 > 0:21:02and I was in the delivery room and had my daughter there.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04I just grew up, just like that, in a way.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07I would say, this is my responsibility now.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09I was scared, I was frightened, holding this little,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12tiny little baby in my arms, being a teenager,
0:21:12 > 0:21:14I'm thinking, "Oh, my God, it's like holding a doll."
0:21:14 > 0:21:18I'd only just finished playing with dolls in a few years previously
0:21:18 > 0:21:20and now I'm holding a real-life doll in my hand.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23I'm thinking, "I don't know what to do with it."
0:21:26 > 0:21:30Samantha and her partner David were engaged
0:21:30 > 0:21:33but after nine months living together as a family
0:21:33 > 0:21:35the relationship fell apart.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38She moved back home with her parents
0:21:38 > 0:21:41and set about finishing school and getting a job.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44My daughter was at home, I'm in school,
0:21:44 > 0:21:46I need to finish my learning, I need an education.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49I've got a baby to support, you know, this is my life now,
0:21:49 > 0:21:51so I need as many grades as I possibly can
0:21:51 > 0:21:53to get a good job to support my child.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58Samantha's grandfather was eventually prosecuted
0:21:58 > 0:22:00for her sexual abuse.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04But though his crime had traumatised her as a child,
0:22:04 > 0:22:07her baby helped her focus on the future.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Having a baby doesn't solve everything.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14Erm, but, to me, it solved...
0:22:15 > 0:22:18..my inner feelings of, you know,
0:22:18 > 0:22:20I have got somebody else to care for now.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24I just wanted a better life for myself
0:22:24 > 0:22:27and, obviously, and my daughter. I wanted to own my own house.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30I wanted a really good job, I wanted to have that luxury
0:22:30 > 0:22:32to take my daughter on holiday.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35This was the future I was looking for.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38That's what motivated me. My daughter was my motivation.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40I wanted my daughter to have a fantastic life.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42I wanted everything for my daughter,
0:22:42 > 0:22:45everything that I was doing was for my daughter.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49Samantha qualified as a nursing auxiliary
0:22:49 > 0:22:52and bought a house near Newport.
0:22:57 > 0:23:03In the '90s, alcoholism was a deep social and psychological wound
0:23:03 > 0:23:06that scarred families and communities.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10It was estimated that there were over 50,000 people
0:23:10 > 0:23:12with a serious drink problem in Wales.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15Mike McNamara was one of them.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19Like so many people in the same situation,
0:23:19 > 0:23:23he sought out a local branch of Alcoholics Anonymous,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26the mutual fellowship set up to help alcoholics
0:23:26 > 0:23:30achieve sobriety and to remain sober.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35Mike found he needed to confront deep psychological issues
0:23:35 > 0:23:38if he was to turn his life around.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42The alcoholic doesn't stop drinking until he's hurt enough.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46Not the people around him, until he's hurt enough.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48But it took me months and months and months,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51to even speak at AA meetings.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54It's almost like a revelation to me
0:23:54 > 0:23:58because alcoholism was to do with an addictive personality.
0:23:58 > 0:23:59Erm...
0:23:59 > 0:24:02The self-centredness,
0:24:02 > 0:24:05the world revolves around me
0:24:05 > 0:24:07and you live in your own head.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09And that's very, very true of me.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12I am a very solitary person.
0:24:13 > 0:24:14# Your love
0:24:14 > 0:24:16# Is lifting me higher... #
0:24:16 > 0:24:21Perseverance paid off and eventually Mike was able to come to terms
0:24:21 > 0:24:23with his new, sober life.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28It's learning again to live.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30It was a whole new ball game.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34It was being aware of what was going on, rather than,
0:24:34 > 0:24:39sort of, having that... that veil between you and reality.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41And when you get sober,
0:24:41 > 0:24:43you start to realise...
0:24:43 > 0:24:46that all of those things that you thought were you,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49you thought you were gregarious, you thought you were this
0:24:49 > 0:24:52because you went out in the pub and you've done this, done that,
0:24:52 > 0:24:55and danced on the tables and all that, that was you...
0:24:55 > 0:24:58That's not you at all. You're nothing like that, really.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02Mike's new life included singing for Children In Need.
0:25:03 > 0:25:08# To share a love that brings us dignity... #
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Mike wanted to give something back for the help he received
0:25:13 > 0:25:15with his fight against alcoholism.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21So he joined the Kaleidoscope Project as a counsellor.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26Here he brought his experience to its work with people
0:25:26 > 0:25:29recovering from substance abuse in Wales.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35I was able to pass on my experience of addiction
0:25:35 > 0:25:38and you can see that recognition in their eyes,
0:25:38 > 0:25:40when you're speaking to them,
0:25:40 > 0:25:42because you tell them how it felt for you.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46And you can see that they thought the same as I thought,
0:25:46 > 0:25:48that it was unique to them.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50That self-centredness, that whole, sort of,
0:25:50 > 0:25:54amalgamation of personality defects that are common to us.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56They can relate to it.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59And when you see people who've got well,
0:25:59 > 0:26:02who've been off the drink for years,
0:26:02 > 0:26:05who got their job together, their life together,
0:26:05 > 0:26:08you think to yourself... that's an achievement.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15Brian Morris was given a 12 year sentence
0:26:15 > 0:26:19for attempting to sell over £1 million worth of cocaine.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23Dartmoor Prison was now his new home.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25Not seeing my son grow up
0:26:25 > 0:26:27really, really hurt.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30I used to spend hours in prayer.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32I spent hours crying,
0:26:32 > 0:26:35and, you know, saying sorry about that, praying for my son,
0:26:35 > 0:26:39praying for my family and hope they'd forgive me.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42And I started working on all different aspects of
0:26:42 > 0:26:45what was wrong with me in my life and what had gone wrong.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48And I've done this through these Bible courses
0:26:48 > 0:26:52which touched different areas, different topics about behaviour
0:26:52 > 0:26:55and about learning new ways of living.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58I did course after course after course.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00I went up to college level as well.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03While I was in prison I started a prayer group.
0:27:03 > 0:27:08It grew into 12 people coming to my small cell every day,
0:27:08 > 0:27:10who needed prayer.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12And I knew I was doing good and helping.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15Even the officers said, "That's great what you're doing.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18"It's a lot calmer here on the block."
0:27:18 > 0:27:20By late 1999,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23Brian had accrued over 65 learning certificates
0:27:23 > 0:27:25from his Bible courses.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28They formed a part of his application for parole
0:27:28 > 0:27:30for good behaviour.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32And to his delight,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35he won his freedom after serving five years
0:27:35 > 0:27:37of his original 12 year sentence.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41Brian was the model of a reformed prisoner
0:27:41 > 0:27:45and went on to become pastor of Oakdale Baptist Church
0:27:45 > 0:27:46near Caerphilly.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49My enthusiasm while I was in prison
0:27:49 > 0:27:52kept me strong for God and my faith.
0:27:52 > 0:27:57And I enjoyed touching people's lives and seeing people change,
0:27:57 > 0:28:02giving something back, that gave me a lift from my guilt, you know?
0:28:02 > 0:28:04It took that guilt away
0:28:04 > 0:28:07for the years that I'd been a drug dealer.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11And I felt when I became a pastor,
0:28:11 > 0:28:13even though I'd served the time for my crime,
0:28:13 > 0:28:17still, deep down, what I've done, you know, will people accept me?
0:28:17 > 0:28:20But people greet me in the street and have warmed to me.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23All that's forgotten. They remember, you know, what I've become.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27# You're my love, you're my sweetest thing
0:28:27 > 0:28:30# Don't shy away, don't shy away... #
0:28:30 > 0:28:35In the '90s, many people faced extreme personal challenges
0:28:35 > 0:28:39as the social landscape of the nation was transformed.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42But through their inspiration and strength of character,
0:28:42 > 0:28:45they changed their lives for the better.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50Next week we see how men and women helped create a new world of work
0:28:50 > 0:28:53by striking out on their own.
0:28:53 > 0:28:58# Ooh, ah, just a little bit Ooh, ah, a little bit more
0:28:58 > 0:29:01# Ooh, ah, just a little bit You know what I'm looking for
0:29:01 > 0:29:05# Ooh, ah, just a little bit Ooh, ah, a little bit more
0:29:05 > 0:29:07# Ooh, ah, just a little bit
0:29:07 > 0:29:09# I'll give you a love you can't ignore... #