The launch of a new group to improve support for families and affected others has been announced by Adfam and Collective Voice. The Collective Voice Affected Others Group will bring together family support organisations and people with lived experience to ‘work together to improve support for affected others’, the organisations state.
Despite the critical role that family support groups play in improving people’s wellbeing, equipping them with the tools to make sense of their situation and connecting them with others going through similar experiences, provision of family support services remains inconsistent across the country, the organisations stress. Collective action is therefore ‘vital to raise awareness, influence policy and ensure families receive the support they need and deserve’.
It’s estimated that around 5m people in the UK are negatively affected by someone else’s drinking or drug use. An FOI request submitted by Adfam in 2024 revealed that while spending on residential rehab, needle exchange provision and substitute prescribing were all routinely accounted for, less than half of local authorities were able to provide any data on funding for family and carer support. Among those that did report allocating funding, the figures were ‘alarming’, said Adfam, with some allocating just 0.1 per or 0.2 per cent of their substance misuse budgets and the national average sitting just above 1.5 per cent (https://www.drinkanddrugsnews.com/counted-out/).
The new group is an extension of the Alliance of Family Support Organisations, which Adfam set up three years ago. It will function as a ‘space for professionals, volunteers, and experts by experience to connect, share, and influence change’, and is open to anyone – professional or voluntary – who has a role supporting families, friends or children affected by someone’s substance use, as well as family members who want to help improve services and policies.
The aim is for the group to meet quarterly by Zoom to help influence national and local decision making, grow the family support sector by building knowledge and identifying gaps, and support wider advocacy and campaigning. It will also help to make sure best practice is shared as extensively as possible, and create a direct channel for Collective Voice, Adfam – which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year (https://www.drinkanddrugsnews.com/adfam-celebrating-40-years/) – and other member organisations to hear directly from frontline workers and families themselves. ‘If this speaks to you, we’d love you to join us,’ the organisations state.
Anyone interested can get touch at admin@collectivevoice.org.uk
Pic credit: Oleksiy Makhalov