from Ann McQ

Hi Jimmy,
This story was taken from the latest edition of Health News which is a wee newspaper distributed by the NHS.
The basis of the story,as you will read,is how Social Services managed to get Anne(not me by the way!) back on track.They fail to make a big thing of the fact that it was the wee girl's Granny who looked after her for the four years her Mother was a prostitute and heroin addict.


Story 8 - How sensitive services helped one mum and her children

Anne’s Story

From an early age, Anne witnessed her drug addict father regularly abusing her mother.

After her mother sought refuge for the family with Women’s Aid, much of Anne’s childhood was spent moving around various women’s refuges and hostels, trying to escape her father. Anne’s education suffered as a result and she left school with no qualifications.

At the age of 18, Anne was pregnant. By the time of the birth of baby Gillian – her first daughter - Anne’s relationship with her partner had broken down due to domestic violence.

Anne first experimented with drugs before falling pregnant. In February 2000, she started using heroin. She lost her job and refused support for her drug dependency.

Gillian was placed in the care of her grandmother and gradually Anne’s contact with both became minimal.

When Anne met Dan, a local drug dealer, in 2003, she had been forced into prostitution to fund her drug habit. Dan encouraged her to stop prostitution and supplied her drugs through his dealing instead. Anne fell pregnant in 2004 but this time took up the offer of support for her addiction. She was stabilised on methadone, given support to establish a routine and counseling to understand the reasons for her drug misuse.

She was also referred for parenting skills and re-established contact with her mother and daughter.

Joan was born in November 2004 and experienced withdrawals. It was decided that, although both parents had made attempts to address their addictions issues, they had not done so for long enough. Joan was therefore cared for by Anne’s mother.

Working with our Children’s and Addictions Services, Anne continued to re-build her life. She managed to turn her lifestyle around and made exceptional progress in addressing her addiction issues. As a result, Joan was returned to Anne’s care full-time with a support package in place.

Joan is now four and has thrived in Anne’s care. Anne and Dan have proved themselves to be very good at parenting. They are also more involved with Gillian’s upbringing. They are determined to ensure that Joan and Gillian do not follow the same chaotic lifestyles as them.

* Names have been changed to ensure anonymity.