A grieving Shropshire mother who lost her daughter to alcohol addiction is leading a campaign to change how families access alcohol addiction treatment and recovery support. She now has the backing of a local MP.

Jane Mackenzie founded Share Shrewsbury after losing her daughter Amy at the age of 37 in May 2019. Amy had battled alcohol addiction for many years. Since then, Jane has turned her grief into action. She now pushes hard for change in how services engage with the families of dependent drinkers.

“The way things are at the moment, families are shut out from being able to properly support their loved one, or even to understand this terrible condition,” said Ms Mackenzie, a former mayor of Shrewsbury. “Shropshire families are crying out for change.”

Her campaign comes at a critical moment. England has an estimated 600,000 alcohol-dependent adults. Yet only 18% receive any form of specialist alcohol addiction treatment. Furthermore, alcohol-specific deaths in England reached 8,274 in 2023. That figure is the highest rate since records began. It also represents a 63.8% rise since 2006.

A Standard Named in Memory of Amy That Puts Alcohol Addiction Treatment First

The proposed reforms appear in a document called Amy’s Standard, named after Ms Mackenzie’s daughter. The standard calls for families to take an active role throughout the entire alcohol addiction treatment and recovery process. Currently, many families find themselves sidelined or left without information.

Amy’s Standard challenges a culture where families often watch their loved ones deteriorate with little access to information or involvement in treatment decisions. Importantly, the standard argues that better substance use recovery support for families is not just compassionate. It is also clinically effective.

Share Shrewsbury works directly with Shropshire Council’s drug and alcohol commissioning team. Together, they aim to write the principles of Amy’s Standard into the new service contract. Moreover, the council now actively reviews that contract.

“Our charity exists to share the truth about addiction and to improve the way care is provided,” Ms Mackenzie said. “Shropshire families are pulling their hair out, watching their loved ones suffer, sometimes dying. Therefore, we desperately need to improve things. Families must take a full role in the whole process of treatment and recovery.”

MP Backs Substance Use Recovery Support for Shropshire Families

Shrewsbury MP Julia Buckley has now publicly backed the campaign. She urges constituents affected by alcohol or drug dependence to complete an online survey. The survey gathers family experiences ahead of the new contract.

“I would urge anyone affected to please complete the survey to lend your voice to bring about change,” she said. “For the first time, the commissioner actively seeks feedback from the families of dependent drinkers and drug users. Consequently, this is a real opportunity to make sure family involvement in recovery becomes part of the new service going forward.”

Mrs Buckley also raised a concern about hospital detox services. Currently, hospitals across the county struggle to deliver medically supervised detoxification. She confirmed that the new contract will address this gap. Safe detox from alcohol, she noted, is a clinical necessity rather than a treatment preference.

Why Family Inclusion Matters

The case for family-centred substance use recovery support is strong. Research consistently shows that family involvement builds what experts call “social recovery capital.” In other words, these are the relationships and networks that help people sustain long-term recovery. Yet too often, the people closest to a dependent drinker find themselves treated as bystanders rather than partners.

Moreover, the scale of the problem is striking. According to the latest government figures, 329,646 adults were in contact with drug and alcohol treatment services between April 2024 and March 2025. That is a 6% rise on the previous year. In addition, alcohol harm costs England alone an estimated £27.44 billion every year.

For families in Shropshire and beyond, however, the numbers are secondary to the human reality. They watch someone they love struggle and feel helpless. As a result, they miss out on conversations that could make a real difference.

“We are working with Shropshire Council to get this written into the new commissioning contract,” Ms Mackenzie said. “This is a chance to make alcohol addiction treatment work better for everyone involved.”

Mrs Buckley added: “A big thank you to Jane Mackenzie and her fantastic team at Share Shrewsbury for driving this forward.”

Finally, families who want to share their experiences with Shropshire Council’s commissioning team can do so via the survey link promoted by Share Shrewsbury and MP Julia Buckley.

Source: dbrecoveryresources