York woman running breakfast club to help others recovering from addiction
Claire Swinburn is sharing her story of alcoholism to help break the stigma
Anyone struggling with alcohol addiction in North Yorkshire is being urged not to suffer in silence.
Claire Swinburn from York has now been sober for 15 months and wants to share her story to tell people to reach out for support: "At my worst times in my alcoholism I just thought I would end up dying, I've had a few close calls with death."
"I've been in recovery on and off for about 17 years now. I discovered alcohol when my daughter was newborn really, it was the effect that it gave me which was a calming effect."
"I learnt that it gave me confidence and made me the party person and I could be what I wanted to be under the influence, it got to the point where I became dependent on it, that's when the chaos and unmanageability came along in my life."
She tells us about one of her lowest moments when she fell into the river Ouse: "I remember falling in, the river had been in flood and I just literally turned round on the muddy bank to go home, and I just slipped straight down and in and that was it the current got me, and it was icy cold. But luckily someone found me."
She now runs a breakfast club at York In Recovery: "I did it because I wanted to give something back to the community and help those that are still struggling."
Claire is sharing her story to help break the stigma around drinking and says she hopes it encourages others to go and get support: "Addiction has got no prejudice it will find anybody at any time so get out there and get the help you need and there is loads we just don't know about it."
What are the Government doing to help?
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Through our 10-year drug strategy, supported by £532m, we are helping up to 54,500 more people receive alcohol and drug support, and we are also funding specialist alcohol care teams in hospitals in England with the highest rates of alcohol harm and socioeconomic deprivation.
“Last August the government also introduced reforms to alcohol duty, meaning products are taxed directly in proportion to their alcohol content, and we are reviewing the official cost of alcohol harm estimates to support us in our efforts to address the harms associated with alcohol.”