Families who have endured the most serious consequences of drug misuse have formed a support group.

Tragic drugs deaths in Moray have led to them uniting to provide a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on.

Fochabers father, Paul Mash, lost his son Michael (24) to a drug overdose in March this year.

Mr Mash said that there can be a feeling of isolation and guilt for families who are living with a drug abuser.

“To live with a drug abuser is quite traumatic and a difficult thing to cope with,” he said.

“The shame you feel as a family is a major cause of suffering, it may be unjustified but you feel it every time you go out the door you wonder if there is anyone looking, if anyone is going to take umbrage or say anything unpleasant.”

However, Michael’s funeral service served as a crucial turning point for Mr Mash, helping him overcome these feelings.

“The very act of having a funeral for my son 'cured’ that. It was absolutely packed with people from the community, all there supporting me and my family.

“It was heart-warming to see these people, and to realise that those uncomfortable sensations had been unjustified. I also realised Michael had been really well liked by the young population of the village.

“People did not speak about what was going on until after he died and then we realised how deep a problem it is in our community, how easy it is get drugs. The local medical practice was filled with people wanting to come off Valium in the aftermath of my son’s death.”

As well as being inundated with cards, letters, visits and flowers, the Mash family were able to draw comfort from Janice Bruce from Buckie, who lost her son to a heroin overdose in September last year.

She asked if they would be interested in forming a support group for people like themselves who have suffered tough times.

Out in the Open was formed and meets fortnightly at Buckie’s Ardach Medical Centre, in accommodation provided free of charge.

The group secured a grant from the Moray Drugs, Alcohol and Blood Borne Virus Group, a local business donated a lap top computer and a fund-raising sponsored walk helped swell the kitty, with enough money to work with a business consultant to help map its way ahead.

Talking about Moray’s drug abuse problem Out in the Open is Paul Mash, who has helped form a new families support group. Mr Mash’s son Michael died of a drug overdose earlier this year. Eric Cormack (NS)

The group will become a registered charity, there to help anyone whose lives have been affected by drugs, but will differ from existing groups in that it will be run by local people with first hand experience of living with substance abusers.

“I know there is a need, I have been there,” said Mr Mash. “When you look for help and support you can’t find it, it is not because it is not there, but the communication of their presence is poor.

“We want to take our message outwards and spread the word. This group has started in Buckie but we want it to spread wider. It will be a place for people to come and chat, have a tea and a coffee and let them know someone understands.

“I have become quite passionate about the whole process and do not like to think of people going through what we have come through without help. The group is for people suffering the same sort of problems, although not necessarily so dramatic.”

Michael, a former pupil of Milne’s High School, started on the “slippery slope”, dabbling in drugs when he was aged just 13. He had a flair for cookery and gained a job as a chef, his creative side also evident in the poetry he wrote.

However, drugs took a grip of his life, he got into trouble with the law, and was in and out of prison.

On one occasion, he broke into a business premises, called the police and asked that they come and arrest him because he wanted to be sent back to prison in the hope of gaining access to a drug rehabilitation programme.

“On a few occasions, we threw him out in despair, but you can’t turn your back on your own son,” said Mr Mash.

“There have been three drugs deaths in Moray since March, and Michael was one of them. As a statistic, that means nothing, but he was my son.

“We do not know what the answers are to the area’s drugs problems, but as a group, we will be there for others and let them know that someone else understands.”

The next meeting of Out in the Open takes place on Wednesday, October 17, and anyone interested is invited to attend. The meeting starts at 2.30pm at Ardach Medical Centre.

c.christie@northern-scot.co.uk

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