Wokingham

A bereaved mother who lost one of her twin sons to drug addiction and the daughter of an alcoholic spoke of their personal experiences at a public Wokingham meeting last week.

Elizabeth Burton-Phillips, whose son Nick hanged himself in 2004 after years of heroin addiction and Emma Spiegler, who is the daughter of an alcoholic, have both set up support groups to help people in similar positions and have also both written books on the subjects. And, at a Drug and Alcohol Evening Address at Wokingham Borough Council’s Shute End offices in Wokingham on Wednesday February 6th, they told how drugs and alcohol could take over people’s lives.

Wokingham Borough Council Mayor Cllr Annette Drake opened the evening and those attending also heard from Jane Wood, coordinator for the Health of Young People for the borough council, John Howard, manager of charity Reading User Forum and Wokingham Area Chief Inspector Tony Ismay.

Jane Wood said: “The evening was emotionally draining but put real people and the effects on their lives in the place of the statistics seen in the media.”

Anybody concerned about drug or alcohol issues can contact Jane Wood, coordinator for the Health of Young People on 0118 974 3795 or Laura Fairbairn, drug action team officer on 0118 974 3795.

Wokingham Borough Council