A campaign led by Stirling University to tackle the stigma around drug and alcohol deaths has received fresh Scottish Government funding after picking up national attention last year.
The ‘See Beyond – See The Lives’ programme features videos of family and friends who have lost loved ones to addiction, including reading out personal letters written to those departed.
They are then asked to sign a pledge committing to be respectful and compassionate towards those affected by substance misuse.
It was run in collaboration with Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs (SFAD), Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) and The Salvation Army.
There was backing from across the political spectrum including by Conservative MSP Miles Briggs, and Labour colleague Monica Lennon, Labour MSP – who both shared their own letters to their fathers following their deaths due to alcohol use.
During the second phase of the campaign, researchers will run a series of roadshows in Scotland to further raise awareness among the public.
The first will launch in Forth Valley in January 2025 before extending to other parts of Scotland.
The roadshows will invite members of the public to engage with the campaign through visual and audio materials.
It comes as the issue takes on vital prominence in recent years, with National Records for Scotland figures for 2023 revealing 1,277 alcohol-related deaths, the highest since 2008, and 1,172 drug-related deaths, an increase of 12 per cent on 2022.
In Stirling, the same NRS data reported a total of 17 deaths in 2023 linked to alcohol – with 66 alcohol deaths picked up in Forth Valley as a whole.
Meanwhile, 15 drug deaths were picked up in Stirling for the same period, the high of 31 deaths coming during the pandemic year of 2020.
Dr Hannah Carver, senior lecturer in Substance Use and co-director of the Salvation Army Centre for Addiction Services and Research at the university, said: “The tremendous reaction we saw to the See Beyond campaign shows that it touched a nerve.
“The stigma surrounding deaths due to drugs and alcohol is still strong and it is only by challenging the stereotypes people bring to substance use, that the shame can be reduced.
“Now it’s time to build momentum and, through public roadshows, try and reach audiences who may not have engaged through the media coverage.
“We are extremely grateful to the Scottish Government for supporting this next important stage of the campaign, which we will launch in early 2025.”