LETTERS AND COMMENT
HAVE YOUR SAY
Write to the editor and get it off your chest
[email protected]
‘Jake took his own
life on 23 August
2015 after a tenmonth
battle with
his mental health
and self-medicating
with “benzos”. What
I saw in our quest
to get him help was
beyond words.’
INSIDE THE BENZO TRAP
I read with interest ‘The Benzo
Trap’ by Kevin Flemen (DDN,
June, page 6). I recognised every
issue covered, as my son Jake
was himself in ‘the benzo trap’
five years ago. It was a world
that I knew nothing about then,
but sadly now I have some
insight and a little knowledge
of it.
Jake took his own life on 23
August 2015 after a ten-month
battle with his mental health
and self-medicating with
‘benzos’. What I saw in our quest
to get him help was beyond
words. Jake was denied a dual
diagnosis, could not get a safe
prescription for diazepam, was
passed from pillar to post, told
to continue to source diazepam
from the internet, and suffered
a seizure when trying to detox
himself. It was just awful.
The coroner issued a
Regulation 28 to prevent future
deaths and commented that
she was ‘baffled by the systems’
which she went on to describe
as ‘disjointed’. I spent two years
following up the Coroner’s
recommendations and am
aware of some changes.
I am passionate about
change and plan to mark the
fifth anniversary of Jake’s death
in August by revisiting of all
of the recommendations made
by the coroner and contacting
all of the agencies concerned.
Dual diagnosis is of particular
interest to me. I want to know
what Jake’s experience would
be today.
Many thanks for highlighting
these issues in DDN.
Mel Anderton, by email
HAVING OUR SAY
It was useful to hear of the new
forum for commissioners (DDN,
June, page 11) – I expect there
are plenty of people, like myself,
who are interested in this. I
hope that when it gets going
it is open to involvement from
those who aren’t commissioners
but have a vested interest in
informed and good quality
commissioning practice.
Too often we hear about
the activities, decisions, action
plans and charters of ‘closed’
groups after a consultation that
has involved talking to their
own narrow membership, such
as the treatment providers.
Please don’t forget the service
users in all of this – the people
who you are setting out to help
in the first place. We have a lot to
say and a lot to give.
A Barnes, by email
FIGHTING SPIRIT
Bill Nelles’ series is fascinating,
thank you. I came into this field
when the Alliance was on the
downward. These articles have
made me start to look up what
user activism used to mean.
Am I the only person to be
terrified at the demise of harm
reduction? Is there anyone out
there from the ‘old days’ who is
still passionate about making
a difference? Even looking
back at the old issues of DDN
in your archive makes me feel
that we have lost a lot of the old
fighting spirit.
Stephen West, by email
PICTURE YOUR STORY
All the best stories have a
moment of identification.
The reader or viewer may not
have directly experienced
the events of the story, but
in the moment they form
a psychological connection
with the storyteller. These
moments are a bridge
whereby the viewer
can empathise with the
storyteller and share an
understanding of their inner
life and circumstances.
The film critic Roger
Ebert said, ‘the movies
are like a machine that
generates empathy. It lets
you understand a little bit
more about different hopes,
aspirations, dreams and
fears. It helps us to identify
with the people who are
sharing this journey with us.’
Over the last five years
we’ve curated an amazing
array of stories through
the Recovery Street Film
Festival and distributed them
far and wide to help create
these wonderful moments
of empathetic identification.
Festival films have been
screened everywhere from
high streets, to prisons, to
the Houses of Commons
and Lords. We believe the
more we can close the gap
between the lived experience
of people in addiction and
recovery and the those
without direct experience,
the more likely we are to be
able to reduce the stigma of
addiction. Stigma misleads
us to believe another person
is a risk to us, it leads
to marginalisation and
discrimination. But the
moments of identification
that run through our festival
films tell us the truth – that
other person is us, someone
who shares our journey.
This year we’ve moved
the festival online. We’re
open for submissions of
your one-minute films until
Monday 3 August. So if you
have lived experience of
addiction please do share
your experience with us. This
year’s theme is ‘isolation’,
something many of us have
experienced in different ways
recently. But the theme is
just a starting point, so be as
creative or simplistic as you
wish. If you’ve got fancy film
making equipment to use
then great, if not use your
smartphone camera.
Check out the details at
www.rsff.co.uk and find us
on Facebook, Twitter and
YouTube.
James Armstrong, Phoenix
Futures
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[email protected], or post
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Ashford, Kent TN27 0LT. Letters
may be edited for space or clarity.
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www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
20 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • JULY/AUGUST 2020
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