‘Faith gets me through’: Mum’s fight continues to save son from drugs

Thousands of drug addicts battle their dependency on substances, but there’s countless stories of heartbreak from their friends and family. One mother has spoke about the local group designed to help support the families providing support.

Drug Arm family support facilitator Tess Heming (left) with Sue Williams. Picture: Rhylea Millar

A Toowoomba mother has opened up about the harsh realities that when a person is battling a drug addiction, it’s also their family and friends who are fighting an emotionally taxing and exhausting battle.

Sue Williams and her son Mark*, who’s name has been changed to respect his privacy, have suffered many tragedies throughout their lives.

Almost 30 years ago, Ms Williams’ youngest son and Mark’s little brother, lost his life at the age of 12, in a drug-related incident in Mackay.

After his brother’s passing, Mark began spending time with an older crowd and smoking marijuana, with the hope it would heal his wounds.

But Ms Williams said all it did was cause her son to become paranoid and led him down a path towards speed and meth addiction.

“(Mark) was only 16-years-old when his brother died and I believe that has severely affected and traumatised him because it was so sudden and they were both so young at the time,” Ms Williams said.

“His whole family had fallen a part, so when (Mark) formed relationships with that older group of friends, he found comfort in that.

“What happened to his brother has traumatised him to the point that he needs to use drugs to

forget those memories or make it through … he still dreams about his brother and that indicates to me that he is deeply traumatised.”

Now aged 44, Mark has spent most of his life attempting to get seek help for his addiction.

Despite his commitment and willing participation to go to rehab Mark’s battle with substance abuse continues, and so too does the battle of support from his family.

“He’s creative, funny, intelligent, so polite and goes to church … he loves to paint, write poetry and knows the bible even better than I do,” Ms Williams said.

“(Mark) is the complete opposite of the general conception of what an addict is and that’s the thing – it can’t be a one size fits all approach.”

Ms Williams said her faith has kept her going over the years, along with the support of Breakthrough For Families – a support program delivered through the collaboration of Drug Arm and Sunrise Way.

“Many families in Toowoomba and the surrounds are suffering in silence but the Break Through For Families group allows us to spread the word, help reduce the stigma and support each other through good and not so good times,” she said.

Drug Arm family support facilitator Tess Heming said her role focused on creating a safe space for loved ones to share their experiences.

“The opposite of addiction is not recovery – it’s connection, so I work with families and support networks to give them a safe, non-judgemental place to talk about their journey,” she said.

Ms Heming said one of the issues surrounding addiction is the stigma and misconceptions associated with it.

“The community stigmatise drug addicts – people think they don’t want to work, they don’t want to get themselves help and they’re a nuisance in our society but that’s not the case – (Mark) has been screaming for help to try and get himself out of this big, black hole,” she said.

“We need to somehow reduce the stigma in our community so we can support these families, rather than view them differently.”

Sunrise Way and Drug Arm facilitate the support group for friends and family of people struggling with addiction, every Tuesday night at the Toowoomba Sports Ground on Arthur St, from 6 to 8pm.

For more information, please phone Tess Heming on 0437 468 368.