National Association for Children of Alcoholics
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The National Association for Children of Alcoholics (NACOA) is a registered charity no. 1009143, founded in 1990 to address the needs of children growing up in families where one or both parents are alcohol dependent or suffer from a similar addictive problem. This includes children of alcohol dependent parents of all ages, many of whose problems only become apparent in adulthood.
NACOA has four broad aims:
1. To offer information, advice and support to children of alcohol dependent parents.
2. To reach professionals who deal with these children in their everyday work.
3. To raise the profile of children of alcohol dependent parents in the public consciousness.
4. To promote research into the particular problems faced by those who grow up with parental alcoholism and the prevention of alcoholism developing in this vulnerable group of children
NACOA provides support and information through their confidential telephone, letter and email helpline and via their website.
"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, NACOA patron 2002 to date
Research suggests that 2.05 million adults in the UK claimed they had been brought up in a family where one or both parents drank too much [1]. 30% (840,000 people) said that this affected them 'very badly' during childhood. 71% (1,988,000 people) said they needed someone to talk to, who understood the problem of alcoholism when they were children [2]. In this study children of alcoholics reported that they had experienced mental health problems, considered suicide, suffered from eating disorders, experienced drug or alcohol addiction themselves and had been in trouble with the police more than control groups.
[edit] References
[edit] Patrons
Mr Tony Adams, Ms Geraldine James, Mr Fergal Keane, Ms Elle Macpherson, Dr D Samways, Mrs S Stafford-Nolan
