A MELROSE-BASED support group is staging two public gatherings at Borders General Hospital later this month to raise awareness of the impact alcohol misuse has on families.

The Al-Anon Family Group is for the families and friends of alcoholics who share their experience, strength and hope in order to solve their common problems.

Earlier this year the group decided to undertake a programme of activity and focus on key objectives.

They want to get people talking about the impact someone’s drinking can have on their families and others.

As part of the ongoing programme two mornings of public awareness are being staged at Borders General Hospital (where the group meets), on Thursday, January 18 and Friday, January 26.

Melrose Al-Anon Family Group spokesperson David Potts said members were keen to work with others in the same field to ensure that as wide a network of support as possible was available in the Borders.

The group has contacted local GP surgeries and other groups in the health sector and has received support from John Lamont MP and Craig Hoy MSP, who were keen to attend an Al-Anon and hear at first hand the experiences of families affected by someone’s drinking.

Mr Potts added: “They both attended a special meeting in September 2023 that was jointly promoted by Al-Anon with attendance by members from Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) with whom Al-Anon works very closely in Melrose.”

Mr Potts also addressed claims made that Al-Anon was a “cult”, saying: “Al-Anon is completely self-supporting through the voluntary contributions of its members.

“It receives no grants or public funding and focuses on the provision of its grass roots peer to peer support group activity.

“It has been suggested that Al-Anon is some form of ‘cult’. Also, that it has a deeply religious basis for its work.

"Group members are free to come and go as they please and seek whatever help and support is appropriate for them.

“It is a spiritual programme that allows for a very wide variety of beliefs, or non at all. It has also been criticised for being ‘non-professional’ with no trained counsellors and therefore dangerous to vulnerable people.

"It offers no more danger to participants than may be present at an AA meeting, but probably lacks the numerical ‘evidence’ to show how it has helped and supported families of alcoholics over time.

“The Melrose group has also endeavoured to support national programmes initiated by other organisations. For example, ‘Alcohol Awareness Week’ in July, ‘Sober October’ and ‘Dry January’, mostly promoted by Alcohol Change UK.

“They are not campaigns against alcohol or drinking and in the main, repeat and endorse what health professionals regard as ‘sensible’ levels of alcohol consumption.

"Nor are they attacks on any aspect of the hospitality industry.

“However, they are often set alongside the cost to health services of treating the effects of alcohol addiction.

"Rarely is any mention made of the sometimes devastating consequences of this addiction on families and the resulting social, mental health and health issues caused.

“An Al-Anon meeting provides a safe and non-judgemental environment where family members can express their feelings in total confidence with others who share and understand their circumstances and offer support from their own experiences.”