10th Anniversary Lobby of Anyone’s Child: A look into a community bound by grief

Written by Liv Hamilton and photographs by Nigel Brunsdon

On 24th June 2025, as part of the Support Don’t Punish Global Day of Action, a group of activists, policymakers and bereaved families came together in Westminster to demand better drug laws which centre health and human rights.

For me, the day was an insight into the world of drug policy reform and opened my eyes to the devastating impacts of the failures of The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. It also marked 10 years of the Anyone’s Child campaign, once a small group of bereaved families, now more than 50, calling for urgent reform of outdated legislation to tackle preventable drug deaths.

In the morning, I gathered with the others in Church House Westminster, hearing stories and mingling amongst the stalls set up by partnering organisations. I spoke to representatives from Release, who provide legal support, as well as campaign for evidence-based drug policy. I attended a Naloxone workshop run by London Harm Reduction Collective, intended to educate about how to properly administer the antidote for overdoses caused by opioids. Also present were a range of organisations, united by the common approach of harm reduction over prohibition, like Exchange Supplies, Support Don’t Punish, Seeds and Health Poverty Action.

 

 

The 10 year anniversary of Anyone’s Child was an opportunity to reflect on the strides that have been taken, but also to mourn those who had been lost, needlessly, in that time. The forget-me-not flowers, created to each represent a life lost to drugs and dangerous drug policy, have become an eye-catching staple of the Anyone’s Child campaign. The sea of handmade flowers made the scale of the devastation unavoidable, loss captured in such a confronting visual.

 

Speeches from family members and activists resumed in Parliament in the afternoon with a few MPs who cared to be in attendance, like Jeff Smith (Labour). A range of topics were covered from the UK’s culture of moral superiority over drug users to the understanding of the role trauma plays in addiction. What emerged was a clear sense of the truth and righteousness of reform. Basic rationale and logic point to how current drug policy in the UK is doing far more harm than good. Unlike so many other issues, there are clear solutions, which are slowly making their way into mainstream debate, thanks to the work of Transform and the other organisations and activists in attendance.

 

While the day was full of grief and anger, there was an undeniable sense of community. For me, the event acted as an entry point into the world of drug policy reform and why it is essential, not only on a political level, but also a deeply personal one too. To see so many people, from all walks of life, be so united and unwavering in their common aim, was contagious. The 10th anniversary lobby of Anyone’s Child demonstrated the hope and momentum that is building in the drug policy reform space after decades of perseverance. Yet underneath the hope, those who have been needlessly lost will always be the driving force in the community’s hearts and minds.