• Our project work
  • Embrace
    • Why Embrace?
    • The evidence
    • Myths and realities
    • Where to get help
    • Useful links
    • Publications
  • HubCAPP
  • SMART project
  • Youth policy
  • Alcohol Concern Cymru
• Campaigning
• AC in parliament
• Events
• Annual conference
• Our members

Why Embrace?

There is little UK research on children, families and domestic abuse within the alcohol treatment population. However, it is acknowledged that:

• Many clients of alcohol services are parents/have parental responsibilities.
• Most have been/are involved in domestic violence/abuse.
• Life within problem drinking families is adversely affected in seven key aspects: roles, rituals, routines, social life, finances, communication and conflict, as parents focused on their drinking may become less loving, caring, nurturing, consistent or predictable.
• Families can play a crucial role in motivating problem drinkers to change, in retaining them in treatment and in preventing relapse; positive engagement of families can have a dramatic impact on treatment outcomes.

Embrace is part of Alcohol Concern's continuing work on family issues and on 'thinking beyond the individual'. This has included producing guidance and toolkits on alcohol and parenting, work with Young Carers, and briefings on domestic violence and alcohol.

This project is a response to the expressed needs of alcohol services in helping them develop and improve their services. In 2004, Alcohol Concern's Parenting Project surveyed 650 alcohol services about their work.

• Only 59 projects said they were working with children and families.
• Only 25% work closely with other organisations on children and family issues.
• Three quarters of the services surveyed said they were not meeting the needs of children and families, but the vast majority said they would like to work in this area.
• More than two thirds said they wanted to incorporate work on domestic violence / abuse issues into their services.

What alcohol services said would help them to become more family-focused:

Alcohol services also identified the support they would need in order to become more effective in working with families:

• Training and support with identifying good practice.
• Developing new policies, procedures and protocols.
• Help in building effective joint working partnerships including information sharing, common assessments, and referral pathways.
• Development of their workforce to ensure that services are fully aware of and sensitive to the issues and able to create effective links with other services and organisations in a multi-agency approach.