Adfam is a national charity working to improve life for families affected by drugs and alcohol. It aims to empower family members and carers, support frontline workers, and influence decision-makers to prevent alcohol and drugs from destroying families. The charity informs, supports, and empowers both people affected by a loved one’s substance use and the workers who support them using compassion and evidence. (https://adfam.org.uk/help-for-families)
Al-Anon Family Groups provide support to anyone whose life is or has been, affected by someone else’s drinking, regardless of whether that person is still drinking or not. The organisation is a fellowship of relatives and friends of alcoholics who share their experiences to solve their common problems. It has over 800 support groups in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. (www.al-anonuk.org.uk)
Families Anonymous (http://famanon.org.uk/) is a self-help service based on the 12-steps plan and is aimed at helping families affected by drug use and behavioral problems.
Bottled Up offers information and advice for family members living with someone who is alcohol dependent. The two founders of the organisation are a therapist and a psychologist who have direct experience of alcoholism. (www.bottled-up.com)
The Children Society’s Stars initiative provides information, guidance, and resources on parental alcohol use, and the impact it has on children and families. (www.childrenssociety.org.uk)
Grandparents Plus is the national charity for grandparents and the wider family in children’s lives offering them professional advice, information, and support. (www.grandparentsplus.org.uk)
Support for families and loved ones of alcohol abusers is very important in the sufferer’s ongoing recovery and continued sobriety. One of the victims of alcoholism is the breakdown of trust within families as well as the added risk of alcohol use disorder continuing through the family line from parent to child.
