A gran’s STORY Phone line is a lifeline
In November, Linda Broadhurst’s daughter Emma Watson, 32, took her own life after losing her partner in a fatal accident and struggling with mental health issues.
The young mum left four children and now, six months on, the grieving family are struggling to obtain the help they need.
Linda, 57, from Ashgill, Lanarkshire, said: “The only thing that kept us all going was the support we got from Families Affected by Murder and Suicide (FAMS), especially my grandchildren who were distraught, angry and lost. The organisation was our lifeline, always there for us when we needed them. That’s why the lockdown has been so hard. We can’t reach out to FAMS and sit down with the people who were there for us through the worst times, because of social distancing rules. Now, as the grief really has us in its grip, lockdown means we can only speak to FAMS by phone.” FAMS’ Ann Marie Cocozza said: “There have been three murders and one suicide in Lanarkshire in the past three weeks alone, and because of lockdown we are unable to do the job we need to do to support these four families in their time of greatest need.
“Our teams would usually be there for them, sitting face-to-face to offer support and advice.
“Instead, we are forced to do our jobs over the phone. “How can you console a devastated mum who has lost her child with a phone conversation?”
Ann Marie said: “Our calls are now spiralling towards 300 a week, that’s six times what we’d usually expect.”