Brighton and Hove will receive almost half a million pounds to fund a new support project to help young people affected by their parent’s alcohol dependency.
The city is one of nine areas in the country to have received their bid for funding from Public Health England to support projects in this area.
Councillor Karen Barford, the chair of the city’s Health and Wellbeing Board, said: “Our focus will be on helping children thrive by reducing parental conflict, improving parenting skills and helping parents address the root causes of their addiction.”
This project is to assure parents and families the city will adopt a supportive, ‘no-blame’ culture, so people feel safe and confident to seek support.
Cllr Barford also said: “We will work closely with the NHS and local community groups to deliver this project, whilst engaging with a wide range of partners to help identify and support children and parents who are affected by alcohol-related issues.”
The citywide produce commencing in January 2019 is about identifying issues in families early and giving the whole family the support they need.
Part of the funding will go towards ‘mentalisation therapy’, which works on building parents’ motivation to see the situation from their child’s perspective.
Brighton Youth Oasis will be running 12-week therapeutic programmes for a number of children and young people to help build their resilience to problems with alcohol and improve their mental health.
The funding is a development after a successful bid from the Brighton and Hove City Council, which will go towards working alongside local partners, including the Brighton Oasis Project, the University of Sussex, and the council’s drugs and alcohol support services – Ruok for children and young people, and Pavilions for adults.
