Cynthia Jean Pointon (4 Oct 1949 - 23 Jul 2022)

Such a wonderful friend to me over the years, has always there for me when life has been tough. I miss you and find myself wanting to tell you stuff all of the time. Rest in peace my beautiful friend.

Touched the lives of so many……….

Cynthia touched the lives of so many, it is hard to quantify just how many people Cynthia helped over the long career in the substance misuse services in Suffolk. It was testament to Cynthia’s work that ex service users kept in touch from time to time and updated on their progress, years after treatment.

Cynthia was a force to be reckoned with and a realist when dealing with challenging service users, she told them how it was and never gave false hope. Cynthia set boundaries and challenged individuals to be the best they could. This realism led to two at least two decades of real positive outcomes for some service users, and those that didn’t quite make it the first or even second time she never gave up hope on them.

The experience that Cynthia had can not be learnt by a textbook her knowledge and expertise was built up over years and years of working in a challenging and at times stressful industry. If you were fortunate to spend time with her and listened well, you learnt so much and I know that I have. Cynthia is irreplaceable and a once in a lifetime person, like a rare find.

When you take the time to go back and remember there was pivotal moments that Cynthia rose to challenges throughout the changes in treatment providers, I knew Cynthia from the days at NORCAS and I am sure that there are many that remember Cynthia beyond that, when she started by volunteering many moons ago. Cynthia was a rock and steadfast at times of change.

A sense of humour may not be what some colleagues relate to when meeting with Cynthia, but a wicked sense of humour she had! Despite all the challenges that come with working in a substance misuse field she would always find a light-hearted quip or cheeky comment to break the tensest of moments.

Cynthia was the best sounding board and whenever there was a problem or a conundrum to be worked out, she was the best at trying to keep things balanced, however she would also just say it how it was and that was a valuable contribution.
Cynthia gave a part of her life for a very long time to helping those less fortunate in an industry that is perhaps surrounded in stigma and at times inequality in society. She saw the best in people when they where at the worst, she saw value where they saw none and she gave hope it the darkest of times, because of this it comes as no surprise that her passing caused so much sadness to ex services and current service users.

I know that you Cynthia’s family call her the rock! We would say she was the anchor for us at work and those that were under her care would agree. In the stormiest of seas, she would try to anchor us down.

The last few years for Cynthia during the pandemic were full of her own personal challenges, the lock down was an immense challenge for her and although garden visits were arranged, she felt lost without her daily commute to work, her ill health over the years caused sadness and despite all her own worries and woes she would always be thinking of others and trying to put their needs first. Cynthia would always apologise for not being in the hub and we would always reassure that there was nothing to be sorry about, whether she was in the hub or at home she would was a valuable member of our team. Cynthia was over the moon when she was finally able to return to the hub after lock-down.

Selfless, dedicated, caring, resilient, understanding, self-aware, authoritative, dependable, patient, humorous, the list goes on for how to describe Cynthia!

On a personal note, from me, Cynthia was my anchor and I hope at times over the last few years I was that to Cynthia especially during the pandemic. A routine was established years ago not long after I started working in Bury, that was our trips to and from work, we would share all our woes and happy thoughts about our families, we would share photos, events, and concerns about our lives. Cynthia was my work mum and knew every aspect of my life and at times was my counsel and her support was what at times got me through some personal challenges. I miss our cheeky stop offs on the way home to get tea, or our delayed chats in the car before entering the hub, taking a deep breath together when entering the building preparing ourselves for whatever the day brings but comforted by knowing we had each other’s back.
I have felt slightly off kilter and a bit adrift since you left Cynthia and I have perhaps been in denial since your sad passing, but the sad reality is that tomorrow you are being laid to rest and with that the final realisation for me that you are never coming back and that just breaks my heart all over again. I wish I just had one more day with you to really tell you how much you were loved and how much you meant to so many.
Rest easy Cynthia I miss you and love you. Michele xx

There is a whole in my life where you used to be.
I'd like to send kind words of sympathy
To your family and friends
You touched so many lives
Giving your time freely
You will be missed by so many
Thank you for allowing me into your life
I hope your family find peace and are aware of how much you are loved by the people you've touched
Xx