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Lenore,
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Sharon,
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Tanya,
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Suzanna,
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Help for families

Where do I get the help I need?

For those living close to a dependent drug/alcohol user, trying to find help can be frustrating. It often seems that support is geared towards the user, when families struggle through problems too. Adfam believe that families need and deserve support in their own right:

There are not enough agencies to help families, but the number of them is growing. The voices of families are increasingly being heard. Search for support services
Many support services have grown up locally throughout the country. Adfam has listings of what is available in your area on this website.
There is a national network of Drug Action Teams. They are generally geared towards user support, but some offer family services and all should be able to direct family members to support in their area: http://www.drugs.gov.uk/dat/directory/
There are national helplines for families to ring to ask for support. These include FRANK 0800 77 66 00 and Parents Against Drug Addiction (PADA) 08457 023 867.
There are also support groups and a helpline provided by Families Anonymous (for the families and friends of drug users) 0845 1200 660 and Al-anon (for the families and friends of someone who drinks alcohol) 020 7403 0888.

There are many different needs that families may have and there is usually an organisation out there that can help. Some families experience violence or have to cope with issues around prisons and the criminal justice system. Living with a drug/alcohol user is especially difficult in these circumstances and such families might want to contact the following:

If a family member is in prison, try the Prisoners’ Families Helpline on 0808 808 2003.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, try Refuge on 0808 2000 247.

There is more information on this website, and packs with useful literature and details of more agencies can be ordered free of charge for family members by phoning Adfam.

As well as finding external support it is important to consider the ways in which you can support yourself. Making sure that you take care of yourself is the most important thing a family member can do.

Become aware of what you need. Ask yourself ‘what will help me right now? What do I need?”
Ask yourself how you usually meet those needs. If you don’t know how then imagine how you could or ask someone else to show you how.
Try not to judge yourself for the needs you have. If you tend to not let yourself have your needs met try to assess if this is healthy for you or something which you feel you could address.

There are many ways in which you can support yourself. Adfam has a produced a hand-out which gives more details about how to achieve this. Please click on the link below to view it.

More information to download and print about Supporting Ourselves