Children of alcoholics who are as young as five-years-old have been calling a helpline that will read them bedtime stories.
The National Association for Children of Alcoholics helpline, based in the UK, is so frequently used that often the counsellors will make a log of their favourite storybooks to have on hand, Metro UK reports.
Hilary Henriques, chief executive of NACOA, told Metro, “The children like to hear a made-up story because this helps to get across the message that things can be different from the life they live at the moment, which is really the cornerstone of what we do – keep hope alive.”
Some of the favourite requests for books include Roald Dahl novels, the classic Disney stories and the Horrid Henry series.
On some occasions, the counsellors have also helped children call an ambulance for their parents.
Ms Henriques said that one time, a five-year-old girl’s alcohol and drug-addicted mother had locked herself in the bathroom. NACOA helped her ring emergency services, but by the time they had arrived, her mother was dead.
The charity received 32,000 calls and emails from children last year alone.
NACOA is working to raise awareness of how prevalent the problem is in the UK, as there are about 2.5 million children of alcoholics. They are aiming to develop strategies to tackle the issue and suggestions to government.
