Every morning, he wakes with a sense of purpose that once seemed impossible to imagine. As a recovery guide at We Care Community Services, an addiction treatment and recovery centre in Eunos, Mr Scott Teo now dedicates his days to helping former addicts stay clean – a mission deeply personal to him, because he has walked the same difficult path himself.
The 42-year-old’s struggle with addiction began after his parents’ divorce left him feeling adrift. He fell in with the wrong crowd, searching for belonging in all the wrong places, and anxiety became his constant companion.
“I was constantly anxious and turned to substances to get myself out of my head,” he recalls. He was just 13 years old then.
What followed was a tumultuous journey spanning more than 20 years – a cycle that felt inescapable. Throughout his 20s and into his early 30s, Mr Teo tried repeatedly to quit, but the efforts never stuck. The longest he ever managed to stay clean was six months before the pull of addiction drew him back.
His connections to the outside world were gradually stripped away. Borrowing money from friends, deceiving those who cared about him to fund his habit – these actions left Mr Teo increasingly isolated.
“The only people in my life were my fellow addicts,” he says quietly. “If I wasn’t using , I would have no one.”
The turning point came in 2018 when Mr Teo learnt of the National Addictions Management Service at the Institute of Mental Health.
Mr Teo now works at We Care and channels his lived experience into purpose, helping addicts stay clean and providing advice and guidance to them. PHOTO: SPH MEDIA
While undergoing drug rehabilitation there, he was diagnosed with anxiety disorder and prescribed antidepressants. He also found out about We Care, which is open on weekdays, and runs a variety of programmes for those grappling with addictions.
The centre’s counsellors provide psychotherapy to clients to understand their addiction, lives, triggers and risks, and strengths. Treatment is holistic and counsellors will work with clients on the underlying reasons for their addiction.
For Mr Teo, having a community and a place to go to daily made all the difference. “I got to know others like me, friends who all have the same goal: to stay clean and rebuild our lives. That is the most important thing.” The centre’s mindfulness-based relapse prevention programme also gave him practical tools, teaching him how to cope with his anxiety without turning to drugs.
The journey was not without setbacks. During the Covid-19 pandemic, when the centre was closed, Mr Teo relapsed. But this time, something was different – he had a support system waiting for him.
He managed to overcome his guilt and returned to the centre after it reopened in 2022, drawn back in part by his recovery guide, who had messaged him every day to ask how he was doing, quietly reminding him that the centre was there whenever he was ready.
