Former mayor's charity will 'share the truth' on alcohol addiction

Share Shrewsbury was launched by former Shrewsbury mayor Jane Mackenzie after she lost her daughter Amy Liebich to addiction, and the charity is holding a two-day virtual conference in November,

It will be titled Alcohol - Sharing the Truth.

Jane said: “For too long the public has been misled about the dangers of alcohol. This toxic drug affects the brain, and alters how we think. Advertising shows alcohol as an enjoyable and harmless way to have fun.

“However, this is not the case, and the public deserves to know the truth. If we are aware of the facts, then we can make informed choices about whether to drink alcohol, and how to manage the risk of harm.”

On the forthcoming conference, Jane added: “International researchers, the leaders in their field, will be setting out the evidence that shows that alcohol is the world's most harmful drug.

“The purpose of the conference is to examine the damaging impact of alcohol on individuals and communities, which has been hidden from the general public, and share the evidence about recovery from alcohol dependence.

“We shall be revealing the ground-breaking brain imaging research which demonstrates the changes that happen in the brain as a result of chronic alcohol consumption – showing that alcohol addiction is a progressive terminal disease and that early intervention is essential to halt its progress.

“The conference will discuss the stigma which exists towards anyone suffering with alcohol addiction, demonstrating how this stigma means that many dependent drinkers feel such a sense of shame that they do not come forward to help until it is too late.

“Strategies will be introduced to change the way we talk and think about addiction and the conference will challenge the view that sufferers are responsible for their own welfare.

“Evidence from the ‘Learning from Tragedies’ report will show that we need to put safeguarding measures in place to protect vulnerable dependent drinkers.

“The conference will be disputing the idea that sufferers should be left to reach rock bottom – we shall be talking about the controversial ‘Blue Light Project’ which works with resistant drinkers.

“We shall have a range of key speakers, many of whom have personal experience of alcohol addiction and recovery. I am particularly keen to give a voice to people like me who have spent years living with someone suffering from alcohol addiction, and have watched it tearing our lives apart.

“It is called a family disease because it affects everyone around the sufferer, causing distress, anxiety stress and heartbreak. If we had been given a chance to get involved in my daughter Amy’s care, and shared our knowledge and experience, then her chances of recovery would have dramatically increased.”

She added: “It’s high time that those who are ‘experts through experience’ become part of the recovery team.”