The new deputy leader of GreenPartyNI has spoken of how personal tragedy has shaped her political outlook.
Lesley Veronica is a politics lecturer and a former member of the Victims and Survivors Forum
Speaking to BBC News NI, she said the deaths of her loved ones had shaped her politics and informed the policies she wanted to pursue. "That was a very traumatising event and it definitely gave rise to a very different childhood for me." She also served as a member of the Victims and Survivors Forum, a group of people who were injured or bereaved during the Troubles who help to influence government policy on dealing with the legacy of the conflict.Two years ago Ms Veronica's 29-year-old son died in a drugs-related incident.
"It shaped my understanding of how we really need to think differently about that because, if what we're interested in is solving the problem then we need to use tested methods for solving the problem."
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