45% of new contacts say they are not drinking and need help to stay sober.
On average a new contact is likely to report drinking 177 units per week, which is the equivalent of 12 pints of beer or 2.6 bottles of wine a day. The heaviest drinkers are drinking the equivalent of 2 litres of spirits a day – between 550 and 600 units
39% of people who contact us have mental health problems: 32% have considered suicide
26% of new contacts are also using illegal drugs, of these almost half also have mental health problems.
33% of new contacts are women. Nationally, 9% of women drink heavily compared to 22% of men (2). Based on that, and City & Hackney demographics (52% women) our target is to see 31% female service users(3).
29% of our users are from black or other minority ethnic communities. Different communities have different propensities for heavy drinking, the white community being the heaviest of all(1). Based on City & Hackney demographic mix(1) our target is to see 25% of our users to come from minority communities.
Sources –
1: "The Health of Minority Ethnic Groups" - Health Survey for
England 2004
2: Office of National Statistics – General Household Survey
3: Census 2001...
