Amy Winehouse’s Death: Father to Set Up Drug Addiction Foundation

Amy Winehouse’s father, Mitch, has announced plans to launch a foundation in his daughter’s name to help people fight drug addiction.

“If you cannot afford a private rehabilitation clinic, there is a two-year waiting list for help,” Mitch Winehouse said at his daughter’s funeral, referring to the state-provided healthcare (Charity DrugScope denied the wait time, saying it was closer to three weeks for 94 percent of people).

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Member of Parliament Keith Vaz has told Mitch he’ll help get the foundation off the ground, the BBC reports.

“I am very happy to help Mitch in any way I can with his important campaign to help rehabilitate those most vulnerable in our society,” he said.

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Mitch said his daughter, who has long documented her struggles with drugs and alcohol, was her happiest “for years” and had “just completed three weeks of abstinence” when she was found dead in her North London home Saturday.

He felt she’d “conquered” her drug addiction, and recently told him she was determined to get and stay clean: “Dad I’ve had enough, I can’t stand the look on your and the family’s faces any more.”

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“Knowing she wasn’t depressed, knowing she… passed away happy, it makes us all feel better,” Mitch said.

“Many in the drug treatment sector will welcome Mitch Winehouse’s ambition to help young people struggling with drug problems, following the untimely death of his daughter Amy,” DrugScope chief executive Martin Barnes told the BBC.

An inquest was opened into Winehouse’s death after an autopsy came up inconclusive. Toxicology reports could take four weeks.

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