Heroin twins' mum offers hope

Rose Harland • Last updated 28 Aug 2008 10:09 0 Comments

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A MOTHER who lost one of her twin sons to heroin addiction believes hope will come from tragedy with the expansion of a charity in his name.

Elizabeth Burton-Phillips dedicated herself to helping addicts' families when Nick died in 2004 after a long battle with heroin addiction, creating the Nicholas Mills Foundation in his name. Its work is now being expanded in Reading as Mrs Burton-Phillips strives to provide an umbrella group for families affected by drug addiction.

Further hope is due today (Thursday) with the birth of her first grandson, James Nicholas, for her surviving son Simon Mills and his partner Tanya Jones.

Mrs Burton-Phillips, of Twyford, whose identical sons both became addicted in thier early 20s, said: "We were phoning around and we couldn't find any help. We were trying to find somewhere to turn to."

Despite all that Mrs Burton-Phillips and her sons' step-father Tony tried to do, Nick despaired of his addiction and committed suicide in 2004, aged 27.

Since then, Mrs Burton-Phillips has spent her time giving talks, setting up the foundation to support families and has written a devastatingly frank book, â€˜Mum, Can You Lend Me Twenty Quid?' to share her experiences.

She said: "In the six months after Nick died, I was very, very shocked, but my surviving son Simon and I worked closely together on the book which was very, very beneficial for us. I also went to the CrackIt support group in Sindlesham.

"I felt wrapped in love by the people of Sindlesham Baptist Church. That, combined with the belief and the knowledge that Nick wouldn't want his death to be in vain, got us through it."

She is looking for a permanent base for the foundation and hopes to offer education services, telephone support and volunteer training within two years.

She added: "It's going to be fantastic, in Nick's memory, to see how the foundation grows. But its main focus is helping the families."

Mrs Burton-Phillips, a head of department at Godstowe Preparatory School in High Wycombe and a former teacher at St Joseph's Convent School in east Reading, is also chairwoman of CrackIt, a support group for the families of people with alcohol or drug addictions, which celebrates its fifth anniversary this autumn.

She said it was important for people experiencing addiction in their family to have a support network, which is what CrackIt offers, and that people are frequently at their wits end.

Since writing her book, Mrs Burton-Phillips has received more than 7,000 letters and 600 phone calls. She said: "The whole purpose of writing the book is to show people that drugs are rife from sink estates to public schools. It doesn't matter which town or village you live in, they're there."

Mrs Burton-Phillips said she wanted to achieve something positive out of something negative by offering hope to people who find themselves in a similar situation.

CrackIt is run by trained volunteers and meets from 7.45-9.15pm every second and fourth Monday of the month in Sindlesham Baptist Church Hall in Bearwood Rd, Sindlesham. It is supported by the Wokingham Drug Action Team. Contact 07743 474026/7 or visit www.crackit.org.uk

The Nicholas Mills Foundation is a registered charity which operates as DrugFAM and Mrs Burton-Philips hopes it will link family support groups across the UK.

Email drugfam@hotmail.co.uk or visit www.nickmillsfoundation.com

This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 28 Aug 08

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