{"id":27981,"date":"2015-11-16T14:35:55","date_gmt":"2015-11-16T14:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=27981"},"modified":"2015-11-16T14:35:55","modified_gmt":"2015-11-16T14:35:55","slug":"cardiff-character-wynford-ellis-owen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/11\/16\/cardiff-character-wynford-ellis-owen\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardiff Character: Wynford Ellis Owen"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a gloomy Thursday outside The Living Room, Cardiff. A pamphlet on the coffee-table illustrates the details of their Reaching Out<\/a> workshop, due to run this December. It trains people to become recovery coaches for addicts \u2013 a role Wynford Ellis Owen, the head of The Living Room, has played for years now.<\/p>\n

When the 67 year old\u00a0walks into the room, you know exactly why he\u2019s had such a high success rate with it. It\u2019s because of his ability to inundate a room with warmth. Perhaps you can attribute his\u00a0charisma to his time as an actor, but the warmth \u2013 it\u2019s the sort that only comes from having walked through the fire.<\/p>\n

\"\u201cNobody

Wynford was born a minister\u2019s son in Denbighshire. As a child, he constantly whistled \u2013 something he believes you can\u2019t do unless you\u2019re truly happy. But after years of being cast as a curate to his father and feeling pressured by the expectations of others, little Wynford stopped whistling.<\/p>\n

At 11, he found solace in his mother\u2019s barbiturates. From then on, he scavenged for the next fix, befriending senior citizens to swipe tranquilisers, sleeping pills \u2013 anything that would alleviate his burden.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor much of my early life, my parents, the education system, society imposed their values on me and it led to a spiritual bankruptcy. I didn\u2019t know who I was,\u201d he admits. At 18, Wynford found\u00a0alcohol and spent many more years stumbling punch-drunk through the dimly-lit underpasses\u00a0of his psyche.<\/p>\n

\n

“There was a voice in my head, screaming \u2018Everything is over, everything is going to be alright\u2019”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The denouement<\/strong>
\nSo how did he emerge from the darkness? It happened in 1992, while he was working in television. “I\u2019d run away to the only producer who would still give me work,” he says. “I was drunk when I arrived and he said to me, ‘When are you going to do something about your drinking?'” That was all it took. Owen drove down to the only treatment centre in Wales, stopping at every off-license on the way. His moment of clarity came outside one, bottle of beast in hand, bleeding and drunk. \u201cI saw myself as I was and it brought me to my knees. There was a voice in my head, screaming \u2018Everything is over, everything is going to be alright\u2019. That voice is still in my head now and the more I listen to it, the better life becomes,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

It’s hard to\u00a0attribute the horrors of addiction to the man in this moment; someone whose virtues and victories far outshine this inherent vice. Today, the former dramatist is a proud husband, father and grandfather, recipient of last year\u2019s Citizen\u2019s Voice Award and the chief executive of the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also penned three books<\/a>. But he speaks most prolifically of his lovechild The Living Room. The free peer-based recovery centre opened in 2011 despite much opposition and has helped hundreds of addicts since.<\/p>\n

Love is all you need<\/strong>
\nOwen sees his transition from entertainment to service as integral to his own recovery; he needed to become a giver rather than a taker. What\u2019s the secret to its success? \u201dMany people believe they have to be good to be loved, but you don\u2019t at The Living Room \u2013 you are loved here unconditionally,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

It might be hard to relate to the junkie in the street, but according to Owen, addiction stems from the overarching desire to be loved \u2013 something we all crave alike \u2013 and receiving it is the cornerstone of recovery.<\/p>\n

His journey is the stuff superhero stories are made of: of a man overcoming his suffering to alleviate the suffering of others. So what has he learned from the human experience after 67 long years? \u201cThat I am loved,\u201d he asserts unwaveringly.<\/p>\n

Watch Owen talk about the idea and philosophy behind The Living Room:<\/p>\n