Fiona Spargo-Mabbs, alongside her husband Tim, founded the DSM Foundation in 2014 after her son Daniel died after taking an accidental overdose of ecstasy at an illegal rave. He was just 16 years old. Since then the drugs education charity has gone from strength to strength, arming young people with knowledge about the effects and risks of drugs and helping them develop life skills and resilience: the aim is to support them in making safer choices – whether for themselves or to look after their friends – when in situations involving drugs.
Fiona is uniquely positioned to lead the DSM Foundation’s work, having spent all her working life in education, both operationally and strategically, and at a local and national level. This is very much echoed in the reach of the charity, with Fiona not only leading the team that goes into schools and colleges (and delivers workshops to parents, caregivers and professionals involved in the lives of young people such as police officers, youth workers and street pastors), but also working closely with the government, police, academics and others on policy in areas that are aligned with the DSM Foundation’s aims.
All members of Team Dan, as the DSM Foundation calls itself, are passionate about what they do. After all, what could be more important than trying to spare other young people, families and communities experiencing what Dan and those around him went through? It’s all about helping young people look after themselves and their friends so they all get home safely.
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