THE Salvation Army in Dubbo is urging people to seek help with alcohol abuse as part of an initiative to create more debate in the community on the issue.
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New research by the Salvation Army in the lead-up to Alcohol Awareness Week has revealed 4.2 million people say they know families where they think children are not being properly cared for because of someone’s alcohol abuse.
Salvation Army Major Colin Young said in his 20 months living in Dubbo he had seen some of the families affected by alcohol abuse.
“I have seen people whose lives are tangled up because of alcohol,” he said.
“I think the first message needs to be when we use alcohol we have to do it properly.”
The figures in the study, conducted by Roy Morgan Research, were discovered through a random, national, telephone survey of 1509 Australians aged 14 and over about alcohol consumption and its impact on children and families.
In regional Australia 2.4 million people personally know a family or families where they think children are not being properly cared for because of someone’s alcohol usage.
Major Young said people who had a problem with alcohol needed to face it, which they could do with the help with Dubbo charities.
“They can certainly come to us as we have access to rehabilitation resources across the state,” he said.
Irresponsible use of alcohol was an issue the community needed to face, Major Young said.
“We should embrace anything that is going to make our community a better place,” he said.
Major Young said education about alcohol abuse had improved.
“I think through media coverage of events where alcohol plays a negative role the public has become more aware,” he said.
“I think the media has reflected the feeling of the public and the last couple of years and helped educate.”
For more information on Salvation Army addiction services call 13 72 58.