Analysis of latest helpline data by Nacoa (the National Association for Children of Alcoholics) shows that requests for help from children bereaved due to a parent’s drinking have sharply risen from 29 per cent in 2020 to 39 per cent last year.
More than half of children of alcohol-dependent parents calling Nacoa describe facing serious mental distress through anxiety, stress, and depression.
Meanwhile, a quarter of callers experienced abuse, including emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect.
Annual calls to the Nacoa helpline reached more than 33,000 in last year, the charity said.
Campaigners and cross-party MPs are calling on government to reinstate funding for the helpline after it was cut in 2021.
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