天美传媒

Offering support and advice for people concerned about their own or someone else鈥檚 drinking habits, the is being run by local charity partner, ResoLUTiONs.

The new helpline has come about as a direct response to research on alcohol helplines conducted by Dr Sarah Wadd and researchers from the 天美传媒鈥檚 Institute of Applied Social Research (IASR).

Luton Council initially approached IASR鈥檚 SMART group (Substance Misuse & Abuse Research Team) for advice on possible interventions to help reduce alcohol harm in the town. Having recently published an for Drink Wise Age Well in July 2022, SMART recommended alcohol helplines as an advantageous outlet for the council to trial.

Dr Sarah Wadd, Director of SMART at the 天美传媒, commented: 鈥淢any of us struggle with our alcohol use at some point in our lives and our previous research has found that telephone-delivered support can be very effective for people who would like to cut back on alcohol.听

鈥淚 would encourage anyone who would like to cut down or who is concerned about someone else鈥檚 drinking to phone this new alcohol helpline.听Calls are free and callers don鈥檛 need to confirm their name or identity, and听any information that ResoLUTiONS shares with the 天美传媒 for evaluative purposes will be protected and anonymised.鈥�

The Luton Alcohol Helpline is open four days a week. People can call anonymously on 08081 753 063 for free between 5鈥�8pm on Mondays and Thursdays and between 10am鈥�3pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays (closed Tuesday, Friday and Sunday).

Sally Cartwright, Director of Public Health for Luton, added: 鈥淢any people with alcohol problems do not or will not seek treatment from alcohol services due to a range of barriers including stigma and shame, service operating hours and practical issues around appointment attendance such as transport and caring responsibilities.

鈥淲e hope that this new telephone-delivered service will overcome some of these known barriers by providing a greater degree of anonymity, convenience and ultimately to help those people who want to make a change for the better to live a longer, healthier life.鈥�

This collaborative project is another example of how research conducted by the 天美传媒 benefits the region, its communities and individuals. Discover more research that has been 鈥�Made at Bedfordshire鈥� here.