Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
‘We have to tell our stories ... we have to make people listen’
For years, they have been i n “hiding” — afraid to speak out in case fingers of blame are pointed at them.
But now, at the end of a week in which the Tele has revealed a shocking 72 people have died a drugsrelated death in Dundee in the past year, a group of mums has decided to go public about the daily nightmare they are living.
Because while the figures make horrifying reading, behind the statistics are real stories about real people and their families.
Carol Evans, 52, and Betty Low, 74, said it was time for people to “step out from behind the l ace curtains” of fear, stigma and shame and tell their stories.
Carol and Betty are currently part of a group of 13 city mums who meet regularly to share experiences and comfort and support each other under the umbrella of Lifeline, a group supported by Dundee Carers.
Shockingly, of the 13 mothers, five have lost a child to drug addiction this year. The remaining eight are currently living with a child with a serious addiction.
Carol is one of the founder members and one of the driving forces behind the group who she says are still reined in by fear of being blamed for their child’s addiction.
She added: “We need to come out of hiding. We have to tell our stories and we also have to make people listen.
“As the mothers of drug addicts we have nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to feel guilty about.
“We are not to blame. We brought our children up well and we are not responsible for the choices they made. We have decided to speak out to try to end this devastating drugs situation in Dundee once and for all.
“We want other parents and relatives of addicts to join us and together we can work towards doing this.
‘‘To begin with people come to us embarrassed but when they meet with us and we talk about our experiences they realise that none of us is judgmental.”
Carol said that her own 26-yearold daughter was currently on a methadone programme but was desperate to be completely clean.
“As the mother of an addict you live in constant fear that your child will end up dead.
They are the parents of addicts who live in daily fear that their child will become the next drug death statistic.
‘‘That thought crosses your mind every single day and every day you shed tears about what has happened.
“There have been days when I haven’t wanted to live, that’s how bad it has got.”
Betty’s 49-year-old daughter has been an addict for almost 30 years.
Betty said: “No one can appreciate what it is like unless they have lived this life.
‘‘I have had my daughter running down the street after me begging for money to fund her next fix.
“She has had her methadone withdrawn but that just means she is getting any type of drug anywhere she can to feed her habit.
“I have had to watch her crawling on the floor banging her head while going through withdrawal. This has to stop, that’s why I’m prepared to put myself out there.”