DRINKING problems affect people across society and Sussex is no different. During Alcohol Awareness Week Community Correspondent SOPHIE DEVLIN reports on the work being done to help families and others to combat the dangers of drinking too much and too often

THE NHS spent £13.9 million on alcohol-related healthcare in Brighton and Hove in 2012-13, or £60 per adult, compared with the South East regional average of £57.

A total of 24% of adults in the city drink above the recommended maximum levels, which are three to four units a day for men and two to three units a day for women. At the moment 7.6% are considered “higher risk” – men who regularly drink more than 50 units a week and women who regularly drink more than 35 units a week.

East Sussex County Council state the NHS annual spend on alcohol-related healthcare there is £32.9 million, or £74 per adult. Of the adult population, 23% drink more than the recommended amount and 6% are higher risk drinkers.

In West Sussex, council figures show that the NHS spends £46.7 million a year on alcohol-related healthcare, or £71 per adult. A total of 23% of adults in the county drink above recommended levels and 6% are considered to be at higher risk.

These are not the only costs, however. The theme of this year’s national Alcohol Awareness Week, which started on Monday, is “family”, in recognition of the impact of heavy drinking, helping those who drink and those close to them.

Jo-Anne Welsh is director of the Brighton Young Oasis Project, which works with women who have problems with drugs and alcohol and with children who are affected by drug or alcohol use. She said: “Alcohol is a significant issue in the city overall and causes harm on many levels. It creates heavy demands on health services and impacts on offending. Quite a lot of crime that happens in the city is alcohol-related.”

Ms Welsh said alcohol misuse in the family is the second most common reason for a child in Brighton to be given a child protection plan.

She said: “It can lead to family breakdown or tension and fractured relationships. Children’s needs are not met and that can result in them experiencing harm and feeling they have to carry around a secret.”

“It can be difficult for children to make sense of it.”

In Brighton the week began at 5pm on Monday with a launch event at One Church in Gloucester Place. This included an exhibition of art made by people in recovery from substance misuse, a performance by the Cascade Creative Recovery Choir and a group exercise to create an alcohol awareness rap led by Jon Clark from hip-hop collective Spoken Herd.

One of the many organisations participating in the Brighton launch was CRI, a health and social care charity that works with individuals, families and communities across England and Wales that are affected by drugs, alcohol, crime, homelessness, domestic abuse, and antisocial behaviour. Between September 2013 and August 2014, 381 people in Brighton successfully completed treatment for alcohol issues with CRI and the Sussex Partnership NHS Trust. In the Brighton area, CRI is based in The Drive, Hove.

At Monday’s event, Penny Ashby, from CRI’s Brighton and Hove Drug and Alcohol Health Promotion Team, said: “The launch was a fantastic start to the week.

“We have so much going on in the city and hope that we can, in some way, reduce the stigma often associated with alcohol use by giving children, young people, parents, carers and grandparents a voice through their art and recovery stories.”

Alcohol Awareness Week in Brighton continues until Saturday with a programme of events including mindfulness and first aid training every day at One Church in Gloucester Place between noon and 5.30pm.

For more information about the organisations mentioned in this article, see the following websites.

CRI Services in Brighton: http://www.cri.org.uk/hrs_brighton.php Brighton and Hove City Council: http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/health-and-social-care/alcohol-and-drugs/alcohol-0 The Sussex Partnership NHS Trust: /www.sussex partnership.nhs.uk/services/substance/cat Alcoholics Anonymous: www.alcoholics-anony mous.org.uk Al-Anon and Alateen: www.al-anonuk.org.uk/ SMART recovery: www.smartrecovery.org.uk/ l Do you want to be a community correspondent? Email news@theargus.co.uk ?device=desktop