Personal Story - Affected by Drugs

"When I was about five years of age, my mother got sent to jail for five years for attempt to supply heroin. After year of my mother being in jail my father also got sent to prison for three years due to a drug related incident. In this time I went to live with my grandmother who cared for me while my parents were in jail. After my parents got out I started to spend weekends and holidays with them. Due to my granddad getting throat cancer (from smoking) I went to live with my parents indefinitely. My granddad then died in December 2000. In 2002, my father then got sentenced to three years imprisonment for attempt to supply. Also at this time my grandmother got diagnosed with bowel cancer. Due to my grandmother’s illness I went to stay with her, seeing my mother at weekends and visiting my father in prison.

In April 2005 my father got released and I left school in May 2005. My grandmother passed away in June 2005. The reason I mention my grandparent’s illnesses is because during the time I was caring for my gran, I became a part of a young carers project called Carewise, they introduced me to Y-Smart. I joined Y-Smart because of the fact that I know what drugs can do to people and also people around them. I have now been with the Y-Smart project for over a year now and I am glad that I’m there to ‘tell my story’ and hopefully discourage young people to take drugs. My father no longer takes drugs.”