Numbers of people seeking help for alcohol in Leeds hits two-year high

Figures seen by the Yorkshire Evening Post show the amount of people who started treatment for alcohol-related issues hit a two-year high towards the end of last year in Leeds

A total of 373 adults began treatment for alcohol at Forwards Leeds, the city’s drug and alcohol service, in September and October last year - more than any other two-month period over the past two years.

The YEP has also learned more family members have been raising concerns about a loved one’s drinking levels over the past year, with around 70 per cent of referrals into city charity Carers Leeds now relating to alcohol - up from 50-60 per cent pre-pandemic.

And both services say they expect those numbers to rise further over the coming months.

It comes as the YEP continues to shine a light on mental health through our #SpeakYourMind campaign, which was launched in 2017 but is now timelier than ever due to the ongoing toll of the pandemic.

Lee Wilson, operations director at Forward Leeds, said: “Pre-Covid we would have around 3,200 supported in treatment [at any one time] and that went up to 3,500 at one stage at the back end of last year. That’s nearly ten per cent. It was quite a big jump.”

He said: “There has definitely been an increase in drinking, although we are not seeing that on the ground quite yet - that big increase in referrals.

“In my opinion, we are still in lockdown, we’re not out yet so I don’t think we can say at this point that that has peaked.

“I think it would be early and naive to say that.”

Owen Findley, a support worker at Carers Leeds who helps people affected by someone else’s drink and drug use, said: “Alcohol has always dominated our referrals but now that has only got greater.