The families of murdered Scots have joined forces to save a lifeline service that supported them through their darkest days.
The mother of gangland murder victim Lynda Spence are amongst dozens of families fighting to help pull the FAMS charity back from the brink.
Grieving families who have lost loved ones to violence have told the Record how FAMS (Families Affected by Murder and Suicide) guided them through unimaginable grief and, in many cases, saved their lives.
But the service is now under threat after a crippling funding drought.
And those who rely on it are rallying to support it so many more families will continue to receive crucial support.
Speaking for the first time in almost a decade, Pat Spence told how she will never stop searching for her daughter Lynda’s remains after she was mercilessly tortured, murdered and dumped by her killers.
She credited Lanarkshire-based FAMS with saving her life and helping her build a future after the horrific death of her only child.
FAMS was formed from tragedy by three sisters following the senseless murder of popular 20-year-old Paul Gerard McGilvray, who was stabbed to death in a completely unprovoked attack by strangers near Coatbridge in 2004.
In August 2005, Sean Toal from Cumbernauld, was convicted of his murder and jailed for 15 years.
Ten years on from the brutal killing, Paul Gerard’s mum Roslyn and two aunts formed a network which would go on to support hundreds of people facing the same horror.
Now, after a turbulent year which saw financial support for the charity slashed, scores of those families have formed a “FAMS tribe” to take on the Kiltwalk next month.
Roslyn, 65, said: "It will be 19 years this year since Paul Gerrard died. You never get over it but you learn to live with it.
“For me, speaking to others who had experienced grief helped me see there was a light at the end of the tunnel, so that’s what we wanted to achieve with FAMS and it’s a comfort to know we’re helping others in the same way.
“When you lose someone the way we have, you can never forget but you learn how to live a different way. Life will be different but you can go on.
“It can only take one person, one night, for your life to be changed forever and when it does you need something like FAMS backing you.
“It’s been a tough year but FAMS is still standing and I hope Paul Gerard’s legacy can live on for many years to come.”
Co-founder Ann Marie Cocozza, Paul Gerard’s aunt, said: “These people have been through hell, yet even in their darkest times they are thinking of others and doing what they can to support FAMS. We can’t thank them enough.”
You can get help from FAMS and support them by visiting the website.
Read the families' stories in full here.
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