DrugFAM (The Nicholas Mills Foundation)

DrugFAM, located in the United Kingdom, was founded by Elizabeth Burton-Phillips in 2006 after the death of one of her twin sons, Nick, from heroin addiction two years earlier. Moved by her own harrowing loss, Burton-Phillips published a book detailing her experience and established DrugFAM to offer other families, friends, and partners the support and resources to which she herself did not have access. DrugFAM has been recognized internationally for its efforts to support individuals through the painful and often isolating experience of losing or watching a loved one suffer from addiction.

The organization's core programs fit into three broad categories: addressing active addiction, bereavement support, and providing education and awareness. The active addiction program assists friends, families, and partners in coping with their loved one's current struggles with substance abuse; the bereavement program employs a team of specialists trained to help individuals navigate the complex emotions surrounding loss due to addiction; the education and awareness program partners with schools, prisons, and local communities to increase widespread understanding of the multifaceted effects of substance abuse. Born from the tragic loss of a son, Elizabeth's DrugFAM has become one of the most nationally respected charities for the support of families affected by addiction in the United Kingdom.