JOHN, James and Jane are all suffering from the same life sentence.

It’s there from the moment they wake up, and it’s only until they get a hit of it that the world feels normal again.

It’s all about the heroin. And John, James and Jane (names have been changed) are slaves to the addiction.

The trio are long-term patients at Footscray’s Open Family clinic, which offers two drug substitution programs, methadone and buprenorphine.

Dr John Sherman, who treats about 600 patients, said some of the treatments only carry a one to two per cent success rate.

Jane, 40, knows that all too well. She has been on the program for 15 years, and this Wednesday morning it’s obvious she has already taken a hit.

The conversation is largely unintelligible, her eyes are constantly drooping and she nods off about every 30 seconds before waking with a start, giving a guilty smile and saying “sorry darl, what was I saying?”

She has just spent nine months in jail for burglary, and her ex-partner has custody of the kids. She hasn’t held a job for 12 years.

James, 38, has spent the last 10 months trying to kick his 20-year heroin addiction.

The treatment, he admits, is not working as well as it should, because he’s still taking eight hits a day. He has also taken speed and ice, and has tried marijuana.

He got into theft and stole from his mother and girlfriend to fund his habit, and spent four years in jail for family violence.

“You’re not living when you’re on heroin,” he says, fidgeting.

“You become a slave to the addiction. I lost everything that was good in my life.”

John, 32, contracted the Hepatitis C virus as a teenager. At least 75 per cent of Open Family’s patients have Hepatitis C.

This is the second time he has tried to kick the habit, and this time, he has his two-year-old son to think of.

“I’ve got no choice – I’ve got a little boy and he needs his dad.”

John started taking heroin as a teen to escape memories of being sexually and mentally abused as a child.

“It blocked out everything, you don’t have to think anything or feel anything,” he says.

He will face court this year and possible jail time after being arrested for drug possession.

It’s an uphill battle for John, James and Jane, but John knows he is lucky to have help.

“I’m pleased that there is a place like this,” he says, referring to Open Family. I feel safe here.”