Over 50 locals attended a talk hosted by a West Lothian author - offering his lived experience dealing with addiction alongside his mum, who shared the difficulties she faced living with an addict.
Aidan Martin is the author of Euphoric Recall, a memoir on his recovery from extreme trauma and addiction growing up in Ladywell, Livingston - it deals with themes like addiction, suicide, violence, class, and mental health.
The event was organised on Wednesday March 9 by Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs at West Lothian College - the college from which David Martin graduated in 2014.
Author and speaker, Aidan Martin, spoke about the event, he said:
“Over 50 people turned up to the event, which is crazy to me - even five years ago drug addiction was heavily stigmatised - so it was amazing to see so many people coming with open minds.
“There was a lot of open discussion about using, addiction, and the impact it has on families from not only addicts, but the families of addicts, and people who had lost children to addiction.”
Aidan read from his book and described his lived experience of addiction to a mixed crowd of active and former addicts as well as families and friends of addicts.
Aidan’s mum, Shirley, shared her personal reflections on living through that time with her son.
Aidan continued: “There’s not a lot of support for addicts in West Lothian, and there’s almost no support for families of addicts - we have no rehab, no detox facility, and no recovery houses.
“Most of the support comes from third sector organisations, like this one [Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs], it focuses on supporting families of addicts.
“In Scotland we’ve only just started about addiction in any kind of open way, but we need to talk more about the wider impact addiction has on families.”
The event was put on by Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs, a national charity that supports anyone concerned about someone else’s alcohol or drug use in Scotland.
They give information and advice to people affected by addiction, helping them with confidence, wellbeing, and linking them into local support.
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