I knew the importance of these challenges, but his death prompted me to do something about it.
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Every day, the young and dreary voices can be heard echoing from the shadows. It was not too long ago before it severely affected my husband, Mark. I knew the importance of these challenges, but his death prompted me to do something about it.
Mark did not come without his flaws. He was fearless and did many risky things. Although, despite his shortcomings, it was that man who would change my life forever.
I came from a stable background. I did not lack love or common sense. It was from the moment that I met Mark, where I was exposed to a world of debauchery and self-abuse. It was a side of life that turned me inside out and upside down.
Addiction is rife across the world and reveals itself in many forms. People are addicted to power, money, fame, sex, crime, drugs, and many others. Unfortunately, people continue to seek more things to satisfy an insatiable desire.
Addiction is one of the biggest problems in the world today. It is also the underlying cause of crime, homelessness, unemployment, and ill health. This costly challenge causes more suffering and claims more lives than any other disease. It affects not only addicts, but their friends and family are often innocent bystanders.
In 2000, when Mark was assaulted by a 12 year old heroin addict, my life reeled into chaos. The boy damaged Mark’s brainstem, which left him in a coma for months. Despite a 5% chance of survival, he survived, but lost the ability to walk and talk for the last 9 years of his life.
Mark died 6 years ago. The assailant was sentenced to 6 months in a borstal.
During the year of Mark’s assault, I vowed that I would never see anyone go through such turmoil again. I set up JAM to begin teaching music workshops to challenged young people. I worked in at-risk areas with drug agencies, schools, and councils across England.
In 2008, a local news article reported 68 homeless young people in my local area, a rural town in Somerset. Many were physiologically dependent on ketamine, which is currently the new drug of choice for young people.
My awareness of this growing problem encouraged me to spearhead a campaign to educate others about this drug and its debilitating (often irreversible) side effects. After following six months of research, the effects of ketamine were confirmed and published in the British Medical Journal in May 2008.
Mark’s health was a key motivator to create the SAFE Collective, which evolved to meet the growing needs of young people.
Drug addiction involves much more than the easy availability of illegal substances. Most programs only treat the symptoms rather than the source. It is nothing more than a surface solution for a deeper problem, which will manifest again and again.
It is only through treating the issue holistically that makes it possible to create a permanent solution to this growing problem.
After following the implementation of successful rehabilitation programs in rural England, Safe Collective has now became the global model in facing drug addiction. In 2009, the Department for the Homeless Institute in Southwest England claimed that we were “THE model for the rehabilitation of young addicts and offenders.”
My children and I have seen the suffering and degradation of young ketamine addicts. It will always stay with us and leave a sadness in my heart forever. Yet, it is those experiences that have given me the passion to encourage and empower young people. I feel my experiences were given to me to help others live in gratitude.
We have been given a gift. The gift of life. We have one body. One life. One planet. We must treasure and honour it, while learning to live together in love.
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