A TEACHER whose 27-year-old son killed himself in despair following an uncontrollable heroin addiction has attended all 74 performances of a touring play in his honour.
Mum Can You Lend me Twenty Quid? What Drugs Did to My Family depicts the heart-wrenching story of Elizabeth Burton-Phillips, whose son Nicholas Mills took his life in 2004 after delving deep into drug addiction with his twin brother Simon, who survived the ordeal.
But despite the critically-acclaimed play having toured the UK as a result of a book of the same name, Ms Burton-Phillips, 64, from Twyford, said she has only just got used to seeing her beloved son’s life come and go right in front of her eyes time and time again.
She said: “Like any mum would say, Nick was a lovely lad. He had great potential in life and did well in his GCSEs but he just lost his way and began using drugs. I had absolutely no idea he was using them.
“He used to keep lots of things hidden, like young people do when they’re that age — one minute they think they’re trying something new and they’re in control of everything.”
She added: “It starts with a cigarette, a cannabis spliff here and there, a few pills on a night out and then bang, they’re on class A drugs and it’s too late to save them.”
Ms Burton-Phillips set up the charity DrugsFAM in 2006 which runs a weekly support group at Caversham’s Gosbrook Road Methodist Church for parents, carers and families whose lives have been derailed as a result of their loved ones’ addiction to drugs and alcohol.
She explained: “The reason I go to all of the performances is because Nick’s story is real — people die every single day because of drug addiction and it’s important that I, as his mum, get his story out to really try and help others who are or have experienced what we went through as a family.
“The first time I saw the play was in 2012 at Wellington College in Crowthorne and it really was quite a challenge to be honest. But his story has reached so many people — whether it’s someone’s wife using drugs, a daughter, son or mum.
“But I have to say after seeing the play so many times now, I've finally got used to it.”
Mrs Burton-Phillips is currently launching the Nicholas Mills Memorial Project, sponsored by the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which will offer support for 18- to 30-year-olds who have lost someone to substance abuse.
The 75th performance of Mum Can You Lend Me Twenty Quid?, sponsored by Reading Borough Council’s Drug and Alcohol Action Team, will be performed next Friday at The Pavilion, Oxford Road.
For information, visit eventbrite.co.uk. Tickets are free, but the charity welcomes any donations.
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