"I am a broken-hearted mother from west Belfast. I recently lost my beautiful son Jack Brennan to addiction and poor mental health.
"Sadly, too many people, like my son, are not offered the timely support they deserve or need to help treat their addiction and to help them in times of crisis."
So begins a moving online appeal by Lorraine Brennan for help to create a 'crisis and rehab service' in memory of her 23-year-old son.
Jack was found by his mother on the floor of his west Belfast apartment in January this year, having ingested a poisonous dose of the powerful drug Flubromazolam.
He had long been battling a drug problem, spending periods in rehab in England and attending hospital A&E departments dozens of times.
His mother believes he thought he was taking the street drug Xanax when he died, and has made a powerful appeal to others to think of the potentially disastrous consequences of their actions.
There were 191 drug-related deaths registered in Northern Ireland in 2019, more than double the figure a decade earlier.
Two-thirds were men, and people in the most deprived areas were five times more likely to die as those in the least deprived area.
The New Decade, New Approach agreement committed the Executive to bring forward strategies on mental health, alcohol and drugs, and a consultation on reducing harm from substance use has taken place.
While the focus of health services has understandably been on Covid, Lorraine Brennan has used these pages to shine an important light on another epidemic that cuts short shocking numbers of young lives each year.
As well as raising money for a rehab centre in Belfast, 'Jack's Promise' seeks to support authorities in providing 'wraparound' services for those in need of help with both addiction and mental health.
The hope is that others will be able to find the support they need before it is too late.
Or, as Lorraine has put it: "We as a family, want to prevent other families from losing a loved one to addiction and experiencing this painful grief and loss.
"We want to give our young people more hope and support when they need it."
They deserve the support of everyone as they attempt to create a positive legacy out of their terrible loss.
