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October 2014 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 7
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
Cover story |
Family support
‘I had to keep my son’s
drug use from the rest of
the family, have heard the
derogatory way people
talk about drug users,
and I’ve seen the look in
people’s eyes when they
find out about my son’s
addiction.’
the stigma and shame they feel from friends, family, neighbours, their communities
and wider society. However, rather than being to blame for their loved one’s
addiction, families are often an essential source of support and ambition for
substance users, and play a crucial role in their recovery. Stigma discourages
families from coming forward to seek the support they so desperately need,
negatively impacts on their health and wellbeing, leads to isolation and renders
them less able to support their loved one. What is required is an understanding of
the difficult predicaments these families face and the potential for recovery.
To this end, the highlight of our campaign will be our 30th birthday portrait
exhibition,
The other faces of addiction
, where we will showcase 30 portraits – 30
portraits for 30 years – of families who have experienced, or who are still
experiencing, the rippling effects of addiction. We have worked with an excellent
photographer, David Collingwood, to capture their strength and humanity and to
reach out to those who are feeling alone and helpless, encouraging them to
come forward for support.
‘I came to this project aware that no two families are affected by addiction in the
same way,’ says David. ‘I expected sad stories – and there were plenty – but the
people I met were funny, fierce, angry, proud, elated, frustrated and hopeful. What
impressed me most was the positive energy of the mothers, fathers, grandparents
and siblings: the tough love that gets up to fight another day, and another.’
The stories we’ve heard along the way have sometimes been heartbreaking
while others have made us laugh out loud. But they are all undeniably inspiring
and touching. Adfam would like to thank all of those who have shared their
experiences with us and bravely spoken out on this crucial issue.
We came to better understand the true impact that stigma has on families, as
one of our participants, Nicola, explained: ‘I had to keep my son’s drug use from the
rest of the family, have heard the derogatory way people talk about drug users, and
I’ve seen the look in people’s eyes when they find out about my son’s addiction.
Luckily, I have friends who see the person he is, rather than the drug user.’
Another of our exhibition participants, Amanda, expressed her eagerness to
be involved in a campaign such as this: ‘We want to show that these issues
happen to all kinds of families. It’s good to know there is work going on out there
to support carers, friends and families with the emotional as well as the practical
impacts that substance misuse can have on a family.’ One lady who came
forward to be a part of our portrait exhibition, while feeling very passionately that
she wanted to be involved in the campaign, nonetheless felt unable to give her
real name or even reveal her face in the portrait because of, she said, ‘the
shame and stigma that still surrounds drug use today.’
Speaking to these families and hearing their stories has shown that the issue
of stigma is a real one – and is in need of addressing. We wanted our campaign
to bring everyone together in support of this cause, so we have encouraged local
family support organisations to hold their own awareness and fundraising events
and provided them with campaign packs containing advice and ideas. We
received an excellent response from local organisations wanting to be a part of
our celebrations by promoting awareness of Adfam and their own local services,
and there will be exciting events taking place throughout the country over the
coming months, from drop-in advice sessions in Peterborough to games nights
and cake sales in Scunthorpe!
Delighted with the level of enthusiasm for our campaign and portrait
exhibition, we decided to spread the message by offering organisations around
the country the opportunity to replicate our
The other faces of addiction
exhibition
locally – and services were quick to snap this up. ‘This is a fantastic idea! The
replica exhibition would be a fantastic opportunity to involve other agencies and
organisations in supporting families,’ said one of our supporters, who works for a
small family support service.
Again, we were thrilled with the overwhelming response from our supporters,
and our exhibition will now reach a much wider audience, as it’s being showcased
at the
Feminism in London 2014
conference, various regional events and beyond.
These exhibitions will run from October until the end of the year – and possibly
into 2015 – with the portraits displayed in libraries, county halls, reception
waiting rooms and at local fundraising events all over the country. We even hope
to get them displayed in the House of Commons, taking our message of hope to
the heart of Westminster. Many of you should therefore have an opportunity to
drop into one of the exhibitions and see the impressive results for yourself.
You can read more about Adfam, the campaign and the local activities
taking place over the coming month at www.adfam.org.uk.
Rachael Evans is research and policy coordinator at Adfam