In this guest blog during Alcohol Awareness Week (6th-12th July), Rebecca Sibbett from Alcohol Focus Scotland shares information about the launch of their new Alcohol Action Network.
Alcohol is linked to serious conditions including liver disease, cancer and stroke, leading to around fifty people in Scotland dying each week. But harm from alcohol isn’t limited to life-threatening illnesses. Every day, people across Scotland experience the impact of alcohol-related accidents, financial problems, family issues and relationship breakdowns.
At Alcohol Focus Scotland, much of our work focuses on prevention. We know that to reduce alcohol harm across the population we must reduce how much we drink overall as a nation. When alcohol consumption falls, fewer people develop disease, require hospital treatment or encounter other alcohol-related harms.
But this is only one part of the story. To truly understand the harm alcohol causes and how best to address it, we need to listen to the people who have experienced it first-hand. People with lived and living experience of alcohol harm bring invaluable insight into the challenges faced by individuals, families and communities. Yet too often these voices are missing from conversations where decisions are made.
As well as bringing insight, we know that personal stories are among the most powerful tools for influencing change. While figures and statistics are essential for illustrating the scale and scope of an issue, people are more likely to connect with other people than with numbers alone. Hearing directly from someone with lived or living experience, who can share their personal journey and explain why change is needed, is often far more memorable than data on its own.
That’s why, during Alcohol Awareness Week, we’re launching our new Alcohol Action Network.
This exciting new project will build on Alcohol Focus Scotland’s current involvement work where we routinely seek views from people with lived and living experience. By formalising the support we offer and expanding opportunities for involvement we hope people will be able to contribute to our work in even more meaningful ways.
The network will bring together people from across Scotland who have experience of alcohol harm, this could be through their own drinking or through the drinking of someone close to them. Members will receive training in media, communications, advocacy and alcohol policy, helping them to share their experiences safely, confidently and effectively.
We will then create opportunities for members to engage with decision-makers, contribute to media stories and help shape our policy and campaigning work. Their expertise will help ensure that Scotland’s response to alcohol harm is informed by the people most affected by it.
We want to bring together a diverse network of advocates from communities across the country, to amplify lived experience, challenge stigma and build more effective policies for the future. To do this, we’d love to hear from people from all walks of life and every part of Scotland who want to use their experience to help create positive change. If you support a group or individuals with experience of alcohol-related harm, or perhaps you have your own experience, please get in touch with our Involvement team.
For more information about the Alcohol Action Network and how to get involved, visit the Alcohol Focus Scotland website.
