Our grant supports Surrey Drug & Alcohol's work

Surrey Drug and Alcohol Care (SDAC) is a registered charity that provides vital support to people in Surrey who struggle with alcohol or substance abuse issues. Thanks to our small grant of £5,000, the charity can now offer more help to the growing number of Elmbridge residents who need their services and they are currently helping 34 Elmbridge clients.

SDAC operates a telephone counselling service and a programme of free counselling sessions to those referred by professionals such as GPs, alcohol liaison nurses in hospitals, or other agencies. The support is open to those affected, as well as their families and friends. Sessions are tailored to the clients’ needs and may be weekly, or as often as twice a day if a client is in crisis. The charity continues to help clients for up to a year after their therapy has ended by offering wellbeing check calls at weekends.

The charity is currently supporting 97 clients with a dual diagnosis of mental health illness and substance abuse issues. Many substances can aggravate the symptoms of an existing mental health illness and the charity estimates that this number will increase sharply over the next year.

Worryingly, SDAC is also helping an increasing number of frontline workers such as NHS workers, GPs, police officers, firefighters and social workers. They report turning to alcohol or drugs due to the increasing strain caused by their work.

If you or someone you know needs help with alcohol or substance abuse issues, you can contact SDAC on 0808 802 5000 or visit their website.