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Duchess Kate Middleton Gives a Speech for Addiction Awareness Week

Duchess Kate Middleton Gives a Speech for Addiction Awareness Week

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (aka Kate Middleton) helps launch the Taking Action on Addiction campaign at BAFTA on Tuesday (October 19) in London, England.

Led by the Forward Trust, “Taking Action on Addiction” is a long-term campaign which will work to improve awareness and understanding of addiction, its causes and scale in society to enable more people to ask for and receive help. This all coincides with Addiction Awareness Week (October 18–24).

Click inside to read the text of the speech the Duchess gave today…

During her speech, the Duchess said, “Addiction is not a choice. No one chooses to become an addict. But it can happen to any one of us. None of us are immune. It is all too rarely discussed as a serious mental health condition and seldom do we take the time to uncover and fully understand its fundamental root causes.”

She added, “The journey towards addiction is often multi-layered and complex. But, by recognizing what lies beneath addiction, we can help remove the taboo and shame that sadly surrounds it. ”

She continued, “As a society, we need to start from a position of compassion and empathy. Where we nurture those around us, understand their journey, and what has come before them.”

“The pandemic has had a devastating impact on addiction rates. And families and children are having to cope with addiction in greater numbers than ever before,” she said. “We know that over one and a half million people across the U.K. who did not have substance misuse prior to lockdown may now be experiencing problems associated with increased alcohol consumption.”

“Around 2 million individuals who were identified as being in recovery, may have experienced a relapse over the past 18 months,” she added.

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Photos: Backgrid
Posted to: Kate Middleton