Patrons & Ambassadors – DrugFam

Professor Sir John Strang MBBS, FRCPsych, FRCP, MD, F.Med.Sci.

Patron

Professor Sir John Strang is a medic and an academic and has an active interest in the contribution science can make to better public policy and practice. He is Director of the National Addiction Centre (NAC) and Head of the Addictions Department at King’s College London.

He leads the new theme investigating ‘Lifestyle Substance Use & Harms’ as part of the new Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) in Mental Health and has also been selected as an NIHR Senior Investigator. He co-Leads, with senior clinical and managerial colleagues, the Addictions Clinical Academic Group of Kings Health Partners AHSC (Academic Health Science Centre). He has been an addictions psychiatrist for over 30 years, and has led the group at the Maudsley Institute since 1995.

He has published over 500 scientific papers in the addiction field and has contributed to national and international policy, chairing policy-informing committees and expert groups for Department of Health, NICE and Public Health England.

Emilia Fox

Patron

Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox (born 31 July 1974) is an English actress and presenter whose film debut was in Roman Polanski’s film The Pianist. Her other notable films include the Italian–French–British romance-drama film The Soul Keeper (2002), for which she won the Flaiano Film Award for Best Actress; the drama film The Republic of Love (2003); the comedy-drama film Things to Do Before You’re 30 (2005); the black comedy Keeping Mum (2005); the romantic comedy-drama film Cashback (2006); the drama Flashbacks of a Fool (2008); the drama film Ways to live Forever (2010); the drama-thriller A Thousand Kisses Deep (2011); and the fantasy-horror drama film Dorian Gray (2009). Read the full article here.

Emilia is one of DrugFAM’s newest patrons. She narrates and plays the part of Elizabeth in Inseparable, an adaptation of Elizabeth’s original novel. You can purchase a copy here.

Professor Keith Humphreys

Ambassador

In 25 years of working in the addiction field, I have never seen a case where someone‘s addiction did not have ripple effects throughout their family. Yet family members are often overlooked and underserved by the care system. That’s why I value greatly the work of DrugFAM, which provides families with the support and information they need as they face the crisis of addiction.

Congratulations to Elizabeth and her team for creating a vital resource for families in need.

Professor John Kelly

Ambassador

Family members are typically the first people to feel the effects of an addiction problem in a loved-one and remain the most deeply impacted throughout the course of their loved-one’s illness. Despite enduring a rollercoaster of fear, hope, and disappointment, absorbing so much of the impact of addiction, and desperately trying to help, family members often feel ashamed and isolated. Even if their loved-one enters treatment, too often families remain neglected, and clinically invisible.

DrugFAM is a desperately needed resource for those families affected by addiction. It provides support, refuge, and hope for the despondent; solidarity and compassion for the grieving; and a forum to celebrate the liberation and joys of recovery. As a clinical and research addiction professional working internationally in the field for the past 25 years, I am delighted to see DrugFAM emerge and thrive. I am honored to serve as an ambassador for DrugFAM in their mission to offer comfort, hope, and support to families in need.

Susan Jackson

Ambassador

Having been in a role supporting those in need during the past few years, I have experienced at first hand the traumas involved in helping the homeless and vulnerable in our communities relating to general social needs and drug and alcohol misuse. Unfortunately many individuals feel that by turning to these substances this will help their fear and anguish, but as we know this is not the case and it can have the affect of accelerating problems which leads to distress to the individuals concerned, their families and friends.

Regrettably this can get beyond their control, but together we can try to make a difference. Together we will help to protect lives and attempt to let the sufferers, their families and their friends realise that there is hope and there is a new life beyond drugs and alcohol. My heartfelt belief is that we should strive to work to create the understanding that we should get away from the stigma attached to these problems to say NO. I am proud and honoured to be an Ambassador for DrugFAM.

Nellie Williams

Ambassador

My experiences of having seen first hand the damage addiction can do to a family and to a community, have led me to this very important role.

Being an Ambassador of a supportive charity started by Elizabeth an ordinary, yet outstanding woman will answer a real and crucial need.

The work that DrugFAM do and the support it gives to families is nothing short of amazing. For those whose lives are affected by addiction, the opportunity to share experiences and access the support network gives hope to many.

As an Ambassador, I am looking forward to drawing on my personal and extensive experience from a career in the Police and, with my connections in regional and national media, I will be able to spread DrugFAM’s message far and wide.

As a Thames Valley Police Support Officer and Youth Offending Link Officer and a Single Point of Contact for 10 schools in Wokingham Borough, I regularly spoke to young people and staff in school assemblies on Actions, Behaviours and Consequences.

I am honoured to be part of DrugFAM’s important work.

Heather Harper MBE

Ambassador

I met Elizabeth when I was a volunteer with Thames Valley Police and Vice-Chairman of the charity, Thames Valley Crimestoppers. We were launching a media campaign to target drug dealers and to raise awareness of how drugs destroy many lives – not just the end user.

Elizabeth’s harrowing story that led to the loss of her beloved son, resonated on us all, especially the media. For her loss became not just another cold statistic but a deeply personal account of the tragic impact that drugs and alcohol had had on her, her family and many others.

The creation of DrugFAM and its outreach has now helped hundreds who are suffering and unable to cope with the indescribable pain of living with addiction in the family or of a loved one. And for those families who were unaware of the addiction until too late, Elizabeth’s Bereaved by Addiction Conference has brought a lifeline of support and compassion.

I was proud to be an early Trustee of DrugFAM and have since signposted and championed the work of the DrugFAM team at every opportunity. Personally, I am deeply grateful to Elizabeth and the charity for their service and now I am especially proud to continue to promote their work as an Ambassador.

Sir Anthony Seldon

Patron

As the very proud educational patron of DrugFAM, knowing Elizabeth and offering a slither of support has been one of the most rewarding facets of my job in the last ten years. I cannot praise the work of DrugFAM too highly: born out of personal pain and tragedy, it offers families a uniquely compassionate and well informed support system for how to cope with family members suffering from addiction.

It is providing a lifeline and a way back to sanity for many. It is truly inspiring and wonderful what is being achieved. I urge you to support Elizabeth and DrugFAM in every way possible.

Sir Anthony is Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham.