Online AA meetings take off on the Coast

AA zoom meeting. Image: Smart Recovery Australia

Worrying new data exploring the rise of drinking during home isolation, shows that one-in-five Australians have purchased more alcohol than usual during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the majority have concerns about their alcohol use and the drinking of others in their household.

National polling by YouGov Galaxy, commissioned by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE), shows that 20 per cent of Australians purchased more alcohol and 70 per cent of them are drinking more alcohol than normal, with one third (33 per cent) now using alcohol daily.

The poll also found that almost one third of people who purchased more alcohol are concerned about their own drinking or someone in their household’s drinking, and 28 per cent are now drinking alcohol to cope with anxiety and stress.

FARE CEO, Caterina Giorgi said that FARE held great concern about the harmful impacts of this increase in alcohol use.

“Increased drinking by people worried about COVID-19 might be good news for alcohol industry executives, but it’s certainly worrying news for our health,” she added.

While the stats from the poll are alarming, they can’t be taken as indicative of what’s happening on the Central Coast.

Coast Community News reached out to Central Coast Alcoholics Anonymous (CC AA) to see how the pandemic was affecting their services and the results were surprising.

A member of the CC AA Committee, who could not be identified due to the anonymous nature of the organisation, said the committee had not witnessed an increase in members reporting they’d fallen off the wagon and taken up drinking again during the pandemic, or ‘going bust’ as it’s known in AA.

However, he did note that CC AA had seen an influx of new members in recent weeks but did not attribute that to a perceived rise in drinking on the Central Coast.

Instead, he believes the influx is a result of CC AA migrating their meetings online.

“Our meetings primarily take place in churches around the Coast, but when the lockdown came into effect, we were forced to cancel them and close our office at Gosford.

“Luckily, one of our committee members is an IT expert and was able to launch our website, Central Coast AA Online, so we could keep them going,” he explained.

According to the CC AA member, since going digital, the organisation was now hosting at least four meetings a day.

The new format has enabled CC AA to reach more people and the member believes that’s why there’s been an influx of newcomers.

“The great thing about these meetings is that you can access them from anywhere, and that’s why our numbers are up, and people don’t even have to be on the Coast to be joining our meetings.

“Since we’re anonymous, we don’t keep records, so for all we know we could have members logging in who got stuck overseas or interstate, and that works both ways.

“Our members could be accessing online AA meetings from anywhere in the world.

“All they need is internet access,” the member said.

Given their success, the committee member said online meetings would likely be incorporated into CC AA’s regular offering once restrictions were lifted.

“The online meetings have become a valuable resource for us.

“It’s a whole new way to help people fighting alcoholism,” he said.

The Central Coast Local Health District Drug and Alcohol Service was also approached for comment.

Source:
Press release, Apr 16
Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education
Interview, May 13
Central Coast Alcoholics Anonymous
Reporter: Dilon Luke