A BARNSLEY mum who has been tirelessly working to get help for people with alcohol addiction following the death of her daughter said she was ‘shocked’ to find out she’d been nominated in this year’s Proud of Barnsley awards.

Elizabeth Marie Harris, from Redbrook, died at Barnsley Hospital in the early hours of August 3, 2024 at the age of 35.

She had been suffering with an alcohol addiction for a number of years and her mum, Gillian, says it was down to her low self-esteem.

Earlier this year, she bravely decided to tell her and Elizabeth’s story to the Chronicle to try and raise awareness of alcohol addiction - and called for more to be done to support those who find themselves in a similar position to the one her daughter did.

She admits that telling her daughter’s story is comforting - and wants others to know of the dangers.

She told the Chronicle: “I’m looking to have a visit to the alcohol care team within the hospital and telling Elizabeth’s story there.

“I’m wanting to be as direct as possible when telling her story.

“I want to get the message over.

“Elizabeth thought that she was invincible and nothing extreme would ever happen to her but of course it did.

“It was too late for Elizabeth, but if we’re able to help other people then it would be good for something positive to come out of such a bad thing.

“The more we can get the message out there, the better.”

She is currently in the process of trying to raise more awareness of the issues by using some of her daughter’s artwork for a display to show the downfalls of alcoholism.

She said: “She did her artwork between her two periods in ICU between 2022 and 2023.

“That was to help her with issues like alcoholism and anxiety.

“It was there for her to focus on something positive rather than the negative.

“She enjoyed doing the artwork.

“She was experimenting with different ideas - like water colours and painting - and we’d like to use those pieces of work.

“It would be nice to put a few messages in between.

“It’d be really good if we can get that artwork displayed.

“Somewhere like the Barnsley Civic is where we’re looking at.”

Gillian has subsequently been nominated in this year’s Proud of Barnsley awards for all the work she does to try and raise awareness - and she admits she never expected to be recognised for it.

She added: “It’s quite a shock.

“I appreciate the sentiment.

“It’s brilliant that somebody thinks so much of me.”

Barnsley North MP Dan Jarvis has praised Gillian for her work.

He added: “Gillian’s courage in turning profound personal tragedy into a powerful campaign is truly inspirational.

“I will continue to support her as she progresses the next stage in her campaign to raise awareness of the harms of alcohol.”