Launching the Brighton #HeretoListen campaign
This week, Nacoa and Back on Track proudly bring the #HeretoListen campaign to Brighton.
Hundreds of poster images by the world renowned The Postman Art and Broken Hartist are being pasted up all over the famous seaside hotspot. They will help children affected by their parent’s drinking know that they are not alone.
In the time between March and June, over 200 posters and billboards will display renderings of the childhood photos of Nacoa supporters, Ceri Walker and Beckie Burkhill. This includes around 150 bus stop ads that will run throughout the whole of the Easter Holidays.
Some mums and dads drink too much…
We’re here to listen.
Beckie and Ceri are both passionate and prominent advocates for children affected by their parent’s drinking. Beckie has created fashion campaigns, designed books, and shared her story about her experiences growing up with a parent who drinks too much.
Ceri Walker, the mastermind of the project, is a communications assistant for Nacoa and the project co-ordinator of Back on Track. She says about the project: ‘As a child I felt alone, like I was the only person in the world who felt like this, and now I want that same little girl to show anyone struggling that there is hope, there is support, and Nacoa are there to listen.
‘I hope they call Nacoa and finally feel heard. I hope one day they feel able to access local services too. These things take time, and trust, and I hope they realise that getting support can be really helpful for the whole family: that they don’t need to keep the secret anymore.’
Children of alcohol-dependent parents in lockdown
Calls to the Nacoa helpline doubled last year in national lockdown. Overall calls for help have gone up a 40% since March last year. Worryingly, helpline handlers are reporting an intensification of the problems faced by these children.
‘I recognise that particularly after lockdown there may be many young people who have been through some difficult times, but still feel unable to ask for support. Their parent isn’t accessing support yet, they may still be in denial, and the young person may not even realise that there is support out there for them’, said Ceri.
We need to make this hidden issue visible. Young people need to know that help is there for them. Share pictures, posters, your own feelings. Nacoa UK is on all social media platforms to help people discover and share.
@nacoauk If you’re struggling right now with your parents drinking or know someone who is please tell them about Nacoa #childrenofalcoholics #fyp #brighton
♬ Umbrella – Vl4s
Back on Track helps families where a parent is drinking too much alcohol to get the help they need. In Brighton and Hove they offer one to one support and therapy for under 18s whose lives are affected by a parent or carer’s alcohol use.
Nacoa is the national helpline charity for everyone affected by their parent’s drinking. Last year it received over 30,000 requests for help through its confidential helpline.
You can download, print, and display your #HeretoListen poster by tapping here for Beckie in yellow and here for Ceri in blue.
Now read: Ceri’s ‘Dear Ceri (9 years old)’.
