Trauma at the Heart of Scotland’s Drug Deaths

Invited guests:

• James Docherty, VRU Mentor & Advocate for Relationships
• Annemarie Ward, Founder of Faces & Voices of Recovery UK
• Darren McGarvey, Social commentator and Rap artist

Scotland has the highest rate of death from drugs in Europe.  The December 2020 report on the latest rise in figures resulted not just in serious media attention but in the resignation of a Scottish government minister.  Still there is not enough action to address this crisis, at the heart of which is childhood trauma.  This Conversation brings together three of Scotland’s leading voices who insist that much more must be done.  Annemarie Ward is the Founder of the organisation Faces & Voices of Recovery UK.  Darren McGarvey is well known as a social commentator, award-winning author and rap artist.  James Docherty has built a reputation for plain speaking compassion, as a survivor of childhood trauma and a mentor within the Violence Reduction Unit.  We will have a chance to hear what they regard as the cause of Scotland’s high death rate and what action they recommend we should be taking.  ACE Aware Scotland believes that much more attention needs to be given to this issue, and we are pleased to be able to help in fostering that attention.