Annual service 'very emotional' in St Paul's

Last week, a local organisation hosted a service of remembrance and hope in Waterford for families and friends of those who have struggled with drug addiction. 

The South East Regional Family Support Network invited the High Hopes Choir to join them on Thursday evening, May 4, in St Paul's where pieces of meaningful arts and crafts were also on display, including a tree with personal messages added to it, individually decorated stones and handmade cloth. 

Chairperson of High Hopes, Jean Lacey, expressed her delight at being invited by the support group to be involved again, making this the choir's second consecutive year to perform at the remembrance service. 

"Immediately, when the call came in asking us to perform, I had to accept and say yes," said Ms Lacey. 

"A lot of our own members would have gone through homelessness, drugs and alcohol addiction and mental health issues, so things like that are close to our hearts and that's why we like to be involved in those events," she added. 

The annual event run by the South East Regional Family Support Network aims to support those who've lost family members through drug addiction, or who are struggling with drug use at present. 

Ms Lacey described the event to be a "very positive", while she added that the choir members were "very emotional" having listened to a woman named Eva share her personal experience with drug addiction, denial and recovery. 

"Eva's from Dublin but she's living in Waterford and now she's even thinking about joining the choir," explained Ms Lacey. 

The South East Family Support Network can be contacted on 051 357767 or 086 6045805 or by email on info@serfsn.org. In the case of an emergency, please dial 112 or 999.