HELPFUL VIDEOS & ARTICLES
A LETTER FROM A MOTHER TO HER SON
A powerful video shared from Tom's Talk Podcast: a heart breaking letter written by a mum for her son, explaining how his addiction had affected her. This will likely resonate with many reading her words.......
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https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNRjGbgd1/
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NUGGETS
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This animated video uses a kiwi to cleverly illustrate the slow burn of addiction, with no words spoken. The animation captures how addiction can start with an initial attraction, but shows how this can escalate into a compulsive cycle of use, until the original 'high' becomes harder to achieve. It seeks to symbolise the increasing tolerance and continual chase for that first euphoric feeling. The video shows the gradual decline in the kiwi's physical and mental state, which mirrors the reality of the devastating impact of addiction on a person's life.
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​Click on the link below to watch this short clip:
https://youtu.be/Pqd4oX0j6Yc?si=aon4T-7qUhYo_L9O​​​​​
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Step Inside the Circle
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Childhood trauma can change how we respond to the world & our experiences. Often, this trauma may lead to choices that can have devastating consequences for us, such as addiction, domestic violence & murder leading to imprisonment.
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As part of the Compassion Prison Project that was filmed in 2020 at a maximum security prison in Lancaster, California, USA, the focus of the day was the Compassion Trauma Circle. They filmed 235 male prisoners who stepped inside the circle for each traumatic event they had experienced during their childhood & the questions they asked were based on the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) created by Dr. Vincent Felitti & Robert Anda of the Centres for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
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Their studies illustrate how the brain, body & spirit can be impacted when somebody is subjected to trauma before the age of 18. Step Into the Circle is a call to action: to recognise the physical, emotional & social impact of ACEs on society & the way that individuals are treated. Particularly stressing the importance of care (not punishment) in the prison system, to support their reintegration back into society with acceptance, understanding & compassion.
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https://youtu.be/aTelzVzOR-A?si=IPXOJ1OcG-x2ZJYH
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HRH The Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton - Patron of the Forward Trust speaks out......
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It's reassuring when people in the public eye use their voice to bring attention to something as crucial and as devastating as addiction. Marking Addiction Awareness Week in November, HRH The Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton has urged an end to the stigma surrounding addiction, calling for society to show compassion and love to those dependent on drugs, alcohol or gambling and to call for open conversations to bring the issue out of the shadows:
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Tony Adams MBE - Forward Trust Chair of Trustees since February 2025
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Tony Adams is a successful & high profile footballer, captaining both Arsenal & the England team during his long career. After crashing his car, he was sentenced to 4 months in prison for driving whilst drunk & admitted he had been affected by alcoholism from early in his career, but had never addressed it.
He has been in recovery since 1996, becoming involved in supporting current & former athletes & sportspeople with their drink, drug & gambling addictions when he founded the Sporting Chance Clinic in 2000.
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Click on the link for the information about Tony's role - Tony Adams - the Forward Trust
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Tony has recorded a series of videos talking about his experiences, such as More Than My Past
& The Conversation That Changed Everything - see these via the links below:
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