"The True Price of Alcohol"

Who else watched Inside Out North East and Cumbria on Monday night? 

It was a fascinating and worrying insight into the binge drinking culture of the North-East and the impact that this has on our health, the health of those around us and the strain it puts on the NHS. These are some of the scary statistics to come out of the program:

If you get a chance to watch it, you can follow the link to iplayer here but it will only to available until 8pm on Monday 16th January.

The program started off by focussing on the NHS and the way that its service is compromised by the number of alcohol-related incidents it has to deal with every year. It also discussed the issue of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), a little know but serious condition which can cause a child to be born with life-long brain damage if the mother has been drinking whilst pregnant. Finally, Mike Parr from BBC Radio Tees undertook a one month fast from his usual 37 units of alcohol a week and went teetotal for the whole of December. When he began drinking again he found that his craving from alcohol had reduced and he was able to reduce his general intake per week.

There is so much more that I could say but the best thing is probably for you to watch this yourselves. It's only 30 minutes long and well worth it if you are concerned about the local culture of binge drinking, if you know someone who struggles to drink safely or if you yourself find this a difficulty.

This all seems like a lot of bad news but there is a way forward! A Way Out has been aware of this issue for a long time. We work with clients on a daily basis who struggle with binge drinking and we see complete transformation in their lives. At the end of November we employed a new member of staff whose role is to reach and support young women who are struggling to control their drinking habits. Partnering with local specialist organisations we provide the support needed to help these young women to reach their goals of safe, healthy and whole lives for themselves and their families.

If you would like to do something to help then there are so many ways in which you can support A Way Out so we can continue to transform Teesside. To find out more, visit our website.

Love from A Way Out x

How I Found A Way Out

This is the audio track mentioned on our last blog. It doesn't need much introduction, just give it a listen, it gives an amazing insight into the difference A Way Out can make to young peoples' lives, told by those who have experienced it first hand.

If you have been moved by hearing these stories and want to help make a difference then there are lots of ways to get involved. Visit our website to find out about volunteering, fundraising or giving.

Love from A Way Out x

Where In The World...?

We've been aware that a lot of people who read our blog aren't in the UK and even if you do live over here, we know that you may not be local to Stockton-on-Tees where we work. I find it's really helpful to be able to imagine where people live and work if I can picture them geographically on a map. So this is where we are!

In some ways the North East is a really vibrant, exciting place to be. But in other ways, this is a really hard place to live and work. The North East has one of the highest rates in the country for depression, and Stockton has some of the worst rates in the region. Stockton-on-Tees is 33% higher than the national average for people with depression (www.nepho.org.uk). 

The North east also has one of the highest levels of deprivation in the country. Middlesbrough is ranked as one of the most deprived wards in the UK (according to the Indices of Deprivation 2010) and one third of children live in poverty (www.endchildpoverty.org.uk). In Stockton, nearly a quarter of children live in poverty (End Child Poverty).

It sounds pretty grim but things are changing. We've seen extraordinary turnarounds in the lives of women and young people. This map shows just a few things we get up to to fight poverty and depression in our area:

(Click on the map to see a bigger version of this image.)

This is only a glimpse of the wide array of work that we do in and around Stockton. Some things we can't shout about online because we need to be sensitive and protect the vulnerable individuals we work with. For more in-depth information, our website is the best place to find out more.

Love from A Way Out x