Joe

Although Joe is always there for his friends, his number one priority is his family. He’s been married to Belinda for 17 years and they have two children who mean the world to him - Zoe (14) and Finn (16). Joe is a loving husband and father but underneath that perfect family veneer are cracks that threaten to rip apart at any moment.

When Zoe was nine, she was attending a gymnastics club when a new coach called Marlon Fielding joined the club. One day Joe was supposed to be picking Zoe up but he couldn’t get out of work. He called Belinda but she couldn’t leave either – Joe spoke to the club who got someone to stay for an extra hour but at the time, he did not realise that one split decision would change his daughter’s life forever.

Marlon stayed behind with Zoe and that is when he took his opportunity to abuse her. He bought Zoe’s silence by telling her that he would not select her for the team if she said anything. So Zoe kept quiet. Not wanting to let down her proud parents, Zoe kept going to the club and made the team. But she became withdrawn and Joe couldn’t understand why.

A couple of weeks later, Marlon transferred to another club and the old Zoe seemed to be coming back until one day Belinda got a call saying that Marlon’s new club would like to invite Zoe to try out for their team. That’s when Zoe broke down and came clean to Belinda.

Joe was overcome with guilt. They eventually persuaded Zoe to speak to the police but her story was full of inconsistencies. The club defended Marlon and with no police record and Zoe changing her story, Marlon was released without charge. He moved out of the area but the Brierley’s were never the same again. Feeling responsible for his daughter’s abuse, Joe drank heavily and for a while, ‘good-time Joe’ would make an appearance but it wasn’t long before he would feel even worse.

His relationship with Belinda started fraying at the seams. Although she never said it, he thought that she blamed him. He could tell by the way that she looked at him… the awkward silences. Things took a turn for the worst when Joe found out that Belinda was sending flirty texts to a guy at work. Belinda denied she was having an affair but that only made Joe hit the bottle harder. Their marriage was in trouble but they stayed together for Finn and Zoe.

Eventually, Belinda convinced Joe to get help – it was either the bottle or his family. This time he could tell that she meant business and he couldn’t stand losing his family. So he got clean and their relationship is slowly mending.

Now Joe regularly attends AA meetings. He also helps with the local Scouts to make sure that he provides a positive role model for any child that needs one. In his eyes, it is his way of making up for his failings as a father...