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"Nacoa isn't an organisation that goes out of its way to court the
headlines. It prefers to work quietly and patiently. But it does the
most extraordinary job creating an emotional and spiritual place of
safety for those who grow up in alcoholic homes. For those who know the
loneliness, the confusion and pain which can come from being the child
of an alcoholic, Nacoa is a vital resource. It tells people that they
are not alone."
Fergal Keane OBE, Patron 2002 to date
Nacoa is a small national charity set up in 1990 to
address the problems faced by children of alcohol dependent parents.
Research indicates there are 2.8 million adults in
the UK who grew up in homes where one or both parents had problems with
alcohol. Almost 2 million said they needed someone to talk to when they
were children, who understood alcoholism and the way it affects the
family unit. Research also indicates there are at least 920,000 children
and young people under the age of 18 living with alcohol dependent
parent(s) in the UK today. The majority of these children will try to
hide their families’ problems from the outside world.
When alcoholism is the family secret, children often
believe disclosure is being disloyal to their parents. Their isolation
is compounded by the fact that although some alcohol services offer
family based therapies, there are few services, which offer help for the
vastly greater number of children who live with alcohol dependent
parents who do not acknowledge or seek help. These children find
themselves with no one obvious they can turn to for help and are
considered to be the most vulnerable.
Over the past 18 years, we’ve responded to over
100,000 requests for help, providing information advice and support
through our free, confidential telephone and email helpline. The charity
is supported entirely by voluntary donations and is reliant on
volunteers to respond to the increasing number of requests for help.
HELPLINE COUNSELLORS
Our helpline counsellors take part in the foundation programme designed
to prepare them to staff our free, confidential telephone and email
helpline. Training takes place in central Bristol over a period of two
months, followed by a series of induction and mentoring sessions. The
programme looks at alcoholism, addiction, family adaptation and
listening skills. Ongoing training is held twice a month when we invite
outside speakers and provide supervision and support.
Helpline counsellors provide a variety of services,
in addition to responding to calls from the helpline. If you live in or
around the Bristol are and can give a minimum of three hours a week and
wish to know more, please contact us at
or
0117 924 8005.
HELPLINE RESEARCHERS
Helpline researchers take part in the Nacoa foundation training
programme and induction before undertaking helpline research duties at
our offices in central Bristol. Outside speaker training is available to
them on an ongoing basis. They provide information, advice and support
to children of alcohol dependent parents, professionals and those
concerned for their welfare, by researching the specific requests or
needs of helpline callers, and by sending out information packs. If you
wish to know more, please contact us at
or
0117 924 8005.
FUND RAISING, SPONSORED EVENTS, ETC
We are looking for volunteers to join a local fund raising group to
organise activities, sponsored events etc in the south west. There is no
reason why groups could not be set up throughout the UK. We are able to
supply sponsorship forms and promotional materials. Please contact us at
or 0117 924 8005.
INFORMATION SHARING
We need help to distribute information. If you know somewhere to display
one of our posters or leaflets (GP’s surgery, local library etc), please
contact us on
or 0117 924 8005 and we will happily
send copies to you, or we can distribute them from here.
MEDIA
We have a media panel who are happy to speak to the press and media,
sometimes about their own experiences, or their professional or
volunteering experiences. You always have the right to say no to any
project. If you wish to join the media panel, please contact us at
or 0117 924 8005.
Nacoa NEWS
45% of the 2.8 million adult children of alcohol dependents parents in
the UK said they would like to learn more about other people’s
experiences so we produce a regular newsletter Nacoa News edited by
volunteers. We are always looking for articles, ideas etc. If you wish
to contribute please contact us by us at
or 0117 924
8005.
Nacoa UK RESOURCE DATABASE
We need help to compile the Nacoa UK Resource Database of organisations
relevant to children of alcohol dependent parents. We research local and
national resources relevant to children of alcohol dependent parents. If
you know of any services in your area, please contact us on
or on 0117 924 8005.
NATIONAL AND LOCAL PRESS – ARTICLE CLIPPING
We need to keep up to date with what’s going on in the local and
national press. We have a library of information on all sorts of issues
published in the press - drugs, alcohol abuse, parenting, abuse, etc. If
you see anything relevant to Nacoa’s work, we would be very grateful if
you could cut it out and send the press clipping to us.
RESEARCH
Volunteers who join the research panel are invited to take part, in
confidence, in Nacoa initiated research and projects put forward by
other agencies. You always have the right to say no to any project. If
you wish to join the research panel, please contact us at
or 0117 924 8005.
SPEAKERS
We need people throughout the country to deliver talks to other
organisations about our services. We provide detailed information,
handouts and visual aids. You will need to complete the foundation
training programme in Bristol to prepare you for this work. If you wish
to know more, please contact us at
or 0117 924
8005.
SHARING EXPERIENCE
We have a section for personal experiences on our website. If you wish
to contribute, please contact Hilary Henriques at
.
WEBSITE
Our website has been designed and is maintained by volunteer, David
Madge. As everything changes so quickly in today’s world, we need help
to ensure the information displayed on the site is up to date. If you
are able to help, please contact us at
or 0117
924 8005.
Our MEMBERSHIP SCHEME provides a portion of our core
costs. Joining the scheme costs £25.00 per year. As a full member of
Nacoa, you are eligible to be nominated as a Trustee and to take an
active role in the charity’s future. If you wish to become a member of
Nacoa, please contact us at
or 0117 924 8005.
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