Celeb support - Children of Alcoholics Week 2010 14-20 February
Calum Best
“I’m honoured to be a patron of Nacoa, if we can spread the word and help people understand the effects and address issues that come along with being the son/daughter of an alcoholic, we will be able to help each other cope with the inevitable harsh effects that come with it. It’s a hidden topic and the more we can reach out to the children and young adults suffering, the better their futures can be.”
Tony Adams MBE
“I support Children of Alcoholics Week because I think it is important for children and young people to understand that they are not responsible for their parent’s drink or drug use.”
Olly Barkley
“Alcohol abuse is everywhere and it’s not only the abusers who bear the brunt. More often than not, it’s the family or close friends that are affected both emotionally and physically. The unconditional support that Nacoa offers all people affected on different levels of alcohol abuse is crucial. To know there is somebody on the end of the phone that they can call can sometimes be the difference that person needs to help them through the day, month and sometimes even life.”
Lauren Booth
“I grew up in an alcoholic household. Back in the seventies parents like mine were known by a single word ‘drunks’. It is hard for a child to reach out, to admit their parents aren’t ‘normal’, to admit you need help as a child of an alcoholic means battling a great sense of betrayal. Not to reach out, to find a helping hand or an understanding listener can spell a lifetime of problems.
I support this week because more needs to be done in schools to tell children about the help that is out there. Over a million children are believed to live in alcoholic households, going through exactly what I went through. They need to be helped and Nacoa is the only charity offering that specific help.”
Belinda Carlisle
“Nacoa taught me a lot about myself. They made me realise that my problems weren’t unique, that I wasn’t alone, that along with my 12 step program taught me how to live life in a more gentle way.”
DBO
“I was keen to show my support for Nacoa, as I believe the work they do in helping the family’s of alcoholics is invaluable. Alcohol may not be illegal, and its use may be sanctioned by our government, but it still damages numerous peoples lives every year, any organisation whose work raises awareness of this deserves our support.”
Lee Ellis
“Nacoa is a worthy cause to support and am happy I am able to show support in the ways I know best”
Finnbarr Dac
“Growing up in Ireland, I witnessed the destructive patterns of alcohol on family life and the detrimental effect on impressionable young minds. I applaud and support in whatever way I can the help that organisations such as Naoca can offer to such children and the young adults they grow into.”
Bill Gallagher
“Alcoholism devastates families, and the affect on children can be shattering. When young people reach out, Nacoa is there, dealing with over a hundred calls every day. The help and support that they give to these suffering, frightened children can transform lives. Nacoa is a charity close to my heart and I am very grateful for the wonderful work they do.”
Julia Goodwin, Journalist
“Watching a much-loved parent fall apart, slowly and painfully, before your childish eyes is agonising. You would do anything to stop it but you can’t and, even worse, you can’t talk about it to anyone. How does a child deal with this double life? By pretending everything is fine whilst feeling ashamed, guilty and responsible. By always being alert for trouble. By trying to make things right for everyone.
But now, thanks to Nacoa, help is at hand and ‘children’ of all ages no longer need to stay silent. I’m delighted to lend them my support.”
Sheila Hancock
“Alcoholism is a family disease. Being a child in such a family can be a living hell that scars for life. These children need someone to talk to.”
Virginia Ironside
”As the child of an alcoholic myself I know just how lonely and frightening it can be when the person who is meant to be looking after you and caring for you is out of her head. I wish I’d had the support of Nacoa when I was young, and can’t endorse its work enough.”
Geraldine James OBE
“As children we were never allowed to talk openly about our mother’s drinking. I remember my brother being slapped very hard when he asked my father if she was drunk – “never use that word in this house again”. I grew up feeling ashamed, frightened, lost, guilty and lonely; feeling un-confident, unsafe, un-listened to, unprotected, unloved, un-loveable; feeling there was no one there, inside or out.
I learned to cope, to lie and to pretend to be grown up, to put on a brave face, to look after everyone else and to be the parent. If only Nacoa had been there then; offering us someone to listen uncritically, to give help and support; someone to trust. But there was literally no one to turn to.
Luckily for me somewhere along the way I discovered acting and it has turned out OK. I have a great career and I love my life – I am one of the lucky ones. I support Children of Alcoholics Week because it’s important to let children know that they can do more than just survive their parent’s alcoholism. They can go on to make successful lives for themselves.”
Prue Leith
”Can you imagine being eleven and lying to hide the truth from your friends and teachers at school, then going home to find your Mum drunk, again, and having to make the supper for your siblings? Or protect them from your drunken Dad? Children are extraordinarily resilient but they need someone like NACOA if they are to come through a childhood like that. ”
Oliver Letwin MP
”I am very glad that there is a special week being devoted to awareness of children of alcoholics – and I want to send a message to all the children who find themselves in this position that they are not forgotten and that they are not alone.”
Cherie Lunghi
“I’m supporting Children of Alcoholics Week because today and every day there are thousands of children who do not have access to help and support. They need to know they are not alone, they are not responsible for their parents’ drinking and they can, with help, stop the cycle of alcoholism.”
Elle Macpherson
“It takes enormous courage to ask for help; imagine how hard it is for children living with parents who suffer with depression or alcoholism. Imagine living in fear because something seems to be wrong but you know not to talk about it. Imagine having no friends because you can’t bring them home and no one you can turn to because your parents deny there is a problem; you carry this burden yourself, even though you’re just 8 years old, or 12 or 15.”
Marco Pierre White“Alcohol drunk to excess and on a regular basis can be a cause of great sadness and destruction.”
Pistol
“I have 2 small children myself whom I both love and appreciate. I am also very close to someone who was brought up by an alcoholic. If I can use my art to help Nacoa and have fun with it at the same time then why not do exactly that! Upfest 2009 was a great day out and I am certainly looking forward to this years event! Please find attached a picture I painted of my youngest daughter last year! Good luck with all you do in the future and if I can help again I will!”
Abi Roberts
“When you are a child, seeing people you love unconditionally affected by this ’strange drink’ is bewildering and terrifying. Why is my mummy being sick? Why is daddy sad? Why is everyone angry and why are voices constantly raised. There is nowhere to turn.
Till now. Nacoa is a wonderful, safe, warm haven for children of alcoholics. Just a phone call away, it provides a LIFELINE so that the effects of alcohol do not poison the next generation. Nacoa I salute you.”
Deidre Sanders, Problem Page Editor of The Sun
“As the child of alcoholics myself I remember well the sense of isolation and shame. It would have made a big difference to have known that others understood just how I felt. These days, thanks to Nacoa, I know that I can always put the children of alcoholics in touch with someone who understands and can offer support.”
Tracey Smith, Author ‘The Book of Rubbish Ideas’ and creator of www.downshiftingweek.com
“Nacoa is a welcome blessing; the fact I know of them lies at the root of my curse. Helping spread the word about the amazing work Nacoa do gives a positive purpose to my own darkness as a COA.
I only wish Nacoa had been around when I was living with a volatile alcohol-dependent parent – I know it would have made an enormous and positive difference. I’ve met the most amazing volunteers at Nacoa, they are a truly dedicated bunch of souls. I think the helpline counsellors have the hardest job of all and I certainly know I couldn’t do it; thank God for every single one of them.
My mum lost her fight to alcohol almost 4 years ago. I found out about Nacoa just after she died and I’ve been proudly associated with them ever since and am now a Trustee. They’ve helped me raise my head and stand a little prouder as a COA. They’ve helped me shed my coat of guilt and shame and my life is all the richer for the wonderful people I know through it.”
SPQR
“I have a deep empathy with the children of alcoholics, and that I think you provide a lifeline to those that otherwise may not have any hope left! I have had no direct experience of the situation those that you help find themselves in, I have however met and had a few friends over the years who have had alcohol problems (not that they had kids mind) so I have some sort of understanding what it must be like to be a dependant upon people with this problem.”
Stik
“These minimalist figures packed with emotion have graced the streets of the city for almost 10 years. Un-missable in their sparse yet warmly human form, these compositions mark Stik’s own rise from the street”.
The last 12 months has seen Stik painting with Mutoid Waste Company (MuTate), Glastonbury Festival, Bristol Up-fest, Oubliette, Barbican, Bridewell, British Waterways and Reclaim The Future plus a curational debut with 30 strong graffiti group show ‘Other Side’ culminating in a fourth solo show, a 50 metre installation at the Art Pavilion, London. With murals featured twice in Big Issue and in Street Art Anthology, Stik has several street art pieces due to appear above and below radar in the coming year!
“When the child is the last one standing, who will help them get their family back on their feet?”
Stephen Williams MP
“Children are perhaps the most innocent victims of alcohol abuse, and without Nacoa many would have little hope. It is impressive that they work with so many young people with no statutory funding, depending entirely on voluntary contributions.”
Kim Woodburn
“It is so heartwarming for me to hear that there is a association such as Nacoa. I came from an environment of drunkenness, violence and mental cruelty. There was no Nacoa then, if only there had been! Good luck and thank you for helping these poor children who do not deserve to be treated this way.”
Antony Worrall Thompson
“I support Children of Alcoholics Week because children living with parental alcoholism need to know there are services just for them. Listening to children, helping them to understand that they are not alone, that they are not responsible for their parents drinking and that they can, with help, make healthy choices for themselves is essential if we want our children to live happy and fulfilled lives.”