Local resident starts Aylesbury based support group for those affected by addiction

A local support group has been set up in Aylesbury to help family and friends of those who are struggling with addiction.

After personal experience, local resident Hannah Marteenig found there wasn't a lot of local support out there, this is how Families Anonymous Aylesbury started.

Hannah told Bucks Radio:

"My husband is recovering addict, so I decided to start the group because when I was going through it there wasn't any local support for me. Yes there are other support groups out there but there wasn't anything in the local area and I really wanted to meet up with people face to face.

"I have friends I can speak to, I'm very lucky and I have a very good network, but they haven't experienced it themselves, so I wanted to talk to people who knew what I have been through."

She wants people affected by addiction, not just the addict themselves to relieve the right support for them. 

"The whole family is in recovery when you're supporting someone like that, because of all the things that have gone on before and the recovery process is quite involved and can be very up and down.

"My husband is doing so well he's been a year sober at the beginning of December, he's done really well but it hasn't been a smooth ride. You need support through that as well so you know how not to enable them, how to support their recovery but also know how to look after yourself and how to set boundaries."

Hannah wants to make sure the groups are a safe space:

"Because addiction is taboo still, its quite difficult to talk about it in general without judgement. You are worried about involvement when you have children and things like that, so it's important to be able to have people you feel safe and secure talking to without the fear or repercussions.

I can absolutely promise there will be anonymity, you only have to provide your first name (it doesn't even have to be your real first name!) and we will treat you as just one of us and let you be free to speak however you want and get the support you need."

The meetings are held at  Walton Parish Hall, first Tuesday of every month, 7pm -8.30pm.

There is no cost, but contributions and donations are welcome to help the running of the meetings. 

As she recognises Christmas can be tough time, Hannah has made sure her next meeting is for the 4th January, and she plans to potential increase the amount of meetings if needed. 

Hannah is supported by Holly who she runs the meeting with, Holly has been through a similar experience and has lost a family member to addiction, so she can share her story with people who come along.

For more information you can follow the group on Facebook here.