Celebrity Support
Tony Adams MBE, Football Legend
“I support Children of Alcoholics Week because I think it is important for children and young people to understand that they are not responsible for their parent’s drink or drug use.”
Jonathan Ashworth MP
“I’m delighted to support Children of Alcoholics week. I’ve recently spoken out about my own personal experiences of my own late father’s problems with alcohol. As shadow Health Secretary supporting children of alcoholics is a personal priority and I’m working closely with MPs to persuade the government to publish a strategy. Let’s send a message to the two million plus children of alcoholics that they need not suffer in silence.”
Calum Best, TV Star & Entrepreneur
“If I’d known there was someone I could talk to, it would have helped me understand and cope with my dad’s drinking. I want today’s kids and young people to know they are not alone; there are people and places that can help you to live a better life even if your parent continues to drink.”
Lauren Booth, Journalist
“I grew up in an alcoholic household. It is hard for a child to reach out, to admit you need help as a child of an alcoholic means battling a great sense of betrayal. Not to reach out, to find a helping hand or an understanding listener can spell a lifetime of problems.
“I support this week because more needs to be done to tell children about the help that is out there. Over a million children are believed to live in alcoholic households, going through exactly what I went through. They need help and Nacoa is the only charity offering that specific help.”
Liam Byrne MP
“International COA week means children of alcoholics around the world can stand together and say that we are not alone. We are determined to campaign for change that will make our journey easier and put in place the help our loved ones need to recover.”
Jane Elson, Author
“I support Children of Alcoholics Week with my whole heart. I want to reach out to all those children, who think thoughts like ‘next time it will be different,’ and ‘it’s my fault,’ and ‘if only I behaved differently I could control my Mum/Dad drinking’. I know how that feels. Remember you cannot control it. I urge you to look after yourselves and remember you are not alone, reach out to Nacoa.”
Geraldine James OBE, Actor
“As children we were never allowed to talk openly about our mother’s drinking. I grew up feeling ashamed, frightened, lost, guilty and lonely.
“I learned to cope, to lie and to pretend to be grown up, to put on a brave face, to look after everyone else and to be the parent. If only Nacoa had been there then; offering us someone to listen uncritically, to give help and support; someone to trust. But there was literally no one to turn to.
“Luckily for me somewhere along the way I discovered acting and it has turned out OK. I support COA Week because it’s important to let children know they can do more than just survive their parent’s alcoholism. They can make successful lives for themselves.”
Sophie K, Radio and TV Presenter
“Last week the police were called on a house across the road from me about a drunk father beating his 9 year old child. After they left I watched the whole family go back inside and shut the door
“The disease of alcoholism has no gender, no race and no postcode. The only experience which is the same is the children suffer, their little brains learning and developing surrounded by trauma.
“As adults they still suffer and struggle with everything from chronic illness to mental health issues. That is why we need COA week. Just because a family can close the door, the child should never be ignored”
Craig Revel Horwood, Choreographer
“My dad Philip is an alcoholic. He’s proud of what I do now, but I feel sorry for how he’s turned out. It definitely affected my self-esteem and body issues, which I’ve battled with since my late teens, leading to a lifelong struggle with anorexia and body dysmorphia. Children of alcoholics are three times as likely to suffer with eating problems so I am thrilled to support COA Week. Children need to know they are not alone and there is help so they do not have lifelong struggles with their demons.”
Prue Leith, TV Presenter
“Can you imagine being eleven and lying to hide the truth from your friends and teachers at school, then going home to find your Mum drunk, again, and having to make the supper for your siblings? Or protect them from your drunken Dad? Children are extraordinarily resilient but they need someone like Nacoa if they are to come through a childhood like that.”
Cherie Lunghi, Actor
“I’m supporting Children of Alcoholics Week because today and every day there are thousands of children who do not have access to help and support. They need to know they are not alone, they are not responsible for their parents’ drinking and they can, with help, stop the cycle of alcoholism.”
Elle Macpherson, Model & Entrepreneur
“It takes enormous courage to ask for help; imagine how hard it is for children living with parents who suffer with depression or alcoholism. Imagine living in fear because something seems to be wrong but you know not to talk about it. Imagine having no friends because you can’t bring them home and no one you can turn to because your parents deny there is a problem; you carry this burden yourself, even though you’re just 8 years old, or 12 or 15.”
Phina Oruche, Actor & Presenter
I am very happy to be involved in raising awareness of the effects of alcohol on the children and extended family of the alcoholic or abnormal drinker. Its a story I know very well. The effects are often subtle to the drinker but devastating to the family, Alcoholism is the one disease that tells you you don’t have it! I am raising awareness via my film “Selah and Brown”.
Deidre Sanders, Problem Page Editor of The Sun
“As the child of alcoholics myself I remember well the sense of isolation and shame. It would have made a big difference to have known that others understood just how I felt. These days, thanks to Nacoa, I know that I can always put the children of alcoholics in touch with someone who understands and can offer support.”
Camilla Tominey, Journalist
“I am so proud to be supporting Nacoa, a charity which has helped me come to terms with growing up with an alcoholic mother – and is helping countless more COAs like me every single day. If you have an alcoholic parent then it is not your fault. There is a life outside your parent’s addiction and Nacoa can help you come to terms with the difficulties you face – the secret struggle that is a part of your everyday life. You are not alone, remember: we are all in this together.”
Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury
“Members of a family that has been infected by the misuse of alcohol walk a hard road. They are innocent but hurt all the same. To care for these injuries to the spirit is fine and admirable work. I experienced the impact of alcohol abuse over many years and know the complexity of responses one feels, but I also know of the capacity for healing and hope that God has brought.”
David Yelland, Author, Editor & Journalist
“There are thousands and thousands of children brought up in alcoholic homes and there is help and things that can be done. In no circumstances whatsoever is it ever the child’s fault and they shouldn’t feel as if it is. If you hide everything away and don’t talk, the problem doesn’t get better.”
Josh Connolly, COAisathing.com Creator
“As a supporter of COA Week, I am always so grateful to see the huge impact it has every year. I am even more grateful to be an ambassador for Nacoa, the charity that validated a lifetime of struggles for me and then empowered me to be the person I am today. Their work is invaluable and their reach immeasurable.”