1. H IDDEN D RINKING AND BME C OMMUNITIES EACH Counselling & Support Services 729 London Road Hounslow TW3 1SE

2. I DENTIFYING AND TARGETING GROUPS : Needs are often identified from various projects Rapid needs analysis by key workers, working at a grass roots level with community based projects whose primary aim may not be about alcohol Trends are fed back into service planning & delivery Targeted support for example working with the Tamil community/Somali Community & Asian men Building links with communities & understanding the different perceptions of alcohol use

3. R EACHING OUT TO HIDDEN DRINKERS Home visiting service to Asian women Street drinkers project in Hounslow that picked up a third of people Street drinkers project in Brent Work that focused on the Somali community which picked up both khat and alcohol use misuse within these communities Domestic Violence early intervention project Domestic Violence Counselling Service

4. A HOLISTIC MODEL Service provision to both family and individual Key sites & points of access for underserved communities Based at GPs, Home-visiting, gender specific support groups to Somali, Tamil & Asian women & Somali & Tamil men, targeted support to family members & carers. Hounslow,Harrow & Ealing provide support via Housing

5. O UR LEARNING BME groups not homogenous Gender differences Specific differences in help seeking behavior Asian men: more settled in the UK, access to primary healthcare, more support from family and communities & statutory services Somali Clients ; less settled issues with accessing healthcare, greater risk of being ostracized/ religious beliefs meant negative view of drinking Tamil Clients; insecure immigration status, historical trauma, dislocated, little or no access to primary healthcare very dependent for support on voluntary services

6. P RESENTING I SSUES Stigma of drinking High levels of loneliness/isolation Alcohol use not always the primary presenting issue Lack of knowledge about the harmful effects of drinking Family members were seeking abstinence as opposed to harm minimisation Refugee and Asylum seeking clients presented with complex issues of trauma, risk of destitution, little or no support, language needs made accessing any services problematic

7. R ETENTION & E NGAGEMENT Quality of engagement is key Aftercare just as crucial: addressing other issues, its never just about the alcohol Had to offer something that met their immediate needs,  Impact on clients mental health  Welfare rights, housing, registering with GPs, advice on employment  Majority didn’t have housing issues; loneliness/boredom, street drinkers form “drinking school  Engage, let them know what services are not necessarily around alcohol

8. EACH C OUNSELLING & S UPORT S ERVICE 729 L ONDON R OAD H OUNSLOW TW3 1SE Info@eachhounslow.org.uk 0208 579 6059