Former addict 'giving hope' to homeless

A hairdresser who is in recovery for drug and alcohol addiction is giving back to the community by providing free hair cuts for homeless people.

Eddie Ilic, 30, said he has struggled with addiction since the age of 12.

He has been sober for nine years and for the last seven years has been working with local homeless charities in Bristol and Bath.

Mr Ilic has a team of 30 hairdressers and is looking for more people to get involved in the scheme.

He said: "When somebody sits in the chair and they are struggling with addiction and are living on the streets - and this is not saying every homeless person is an addict or an alcoholic - when they sit in the chair that build of trust and friendship starts to grow and they can open up about their life and their own struggles with addiction."

Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol, Mr Ilic said: "I had a really good upbringing by a loving family. [But] at a young age, I always struggled to fit in and to be accepted."

He explained that his family moved around a lot when he was child, and as a result he struggled to mix with his peers.

"When I found drink and drugs at the age of about 12 it took any kind of worry, any fear, away from me and I just loved that feeling of what it gave me. I chased that feeling," he said.

Mr Ilic said his addiction led him down a chaotic path where he would frequently get in trouble with police.

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At age 20, Mr Ilic was encouraged to join a 12-step programme - a plan first discovered by Alcoholics Anonymous to help people overcome alcoholism and addictions.

But he felt he was doing it for other people and not himself.

"It took me a year to fully admit I'm an alcoholic and an addict," he said.

"I remember waking up on the 27th July 2015 and I'd had enough."

After hitting rock bottom, missing work and blackout drinking, he decided to get help for himself.

"I was spiritually broken and physically, I felt ill. I had just had enough of how I was feeling," he said.

Seven years ago, Mr Ilic was helping on a soup run for the homeless in Bath, when he realised that there were a lot of homeless people who could do with a hair cut.

He got in touch with a local homeless charity and decided to start offering free haircuts under the name ‘Eddie’s Street Cuts’.

Now he has a team of 30 hairdressers who all give their time to offer the free haircuts, working with six different homeless charities.

Mr Ilic said he can also give people hope as he shares his story with them and how he has changed his life.

Although Mr Ilic has been sober for the past nine years, he said his recovery is still a work in progress.

"There are days where I do struggle and feel very alone," he said.

"But I'm so grateful that I have other recovering addicts and alcoholics around me in my life today that I can share my feelings with."

Mr Ilic is looking for more hairdressers to join his team so that he can continue to give free haircuts to homeless people.

He has launched a fundraiser with a target of £3,000 to help expand the service.

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