About us

Adfam is a national charity tackling the negative effects of drugs and alcohol on family members and friends. We improve life for thousands of people. Our mission is to do this by:

  • empowering families and friends to get the support they need.
  • building the confidence, capacity and capability of frontline practitioners to provide effective services.
  • influencing decision-makers to understand the needs of the millions of people coping with the negative effects of a family member or friend’s drinking or drug use.

Find out more about the impact of Adfam’s work by reading our 2021 Impact Report.

Our vision

We want anyone affected by someone else’s drug  or alcohol use or gambling problem to have the chance to benefit from healthy relationships, be part of a loving and supportive family and enjoy mental and physical wellbeing.

What we value

We are empowering, supportive and influential

We listen to families and frontline workers

We know that people who face challenges often also have answers. So what we do is informed by our supporters: using compassion and evidence we inform, support and empower both people affected by a loved one’s drug or alcohol use or gambling and the workers who support them. We build skills, resources, confidence and pathways so both groups can help themselves, their peers, clients and communities.

We’re driven by what works

The impact of substance use on family relationships and wellbeing is both profound and varied. We approach our work with care and close attention to what works in the real world. To do this we embrace evidence in all its diversity, never underestimating the value of real-life experience as well as formal research evidence. Our work is driven by our friends, supporters and colleagues and what they tell us works.

We’re serious about our mission

We are serious about our work, and our partnerships, and committed to delivering them to the highest quality. We know that prejudice and stigma are barriers to recovery and cause harm, and we promise to treat individuals and families affected by drugs and alcohol with respect and dignity. We want to see a society free from stigma towards drug and alcohol users and those with a gambling problem as well as their families, and will fight until it exists.

Tackling racism and discrimination is essential to achieving our vision. There are structural inequalities that exacerbate the impact that drug use, alcohol use and gambling can have on people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities and their families. We want anyone affected by someone else’s gambling, drug or alcohol use to benefit from healthy relationships, be part of a loving and supportive family and enjoy mental and physical wellbeing. Our vision is denied to too many families because of racism. We are committed to identifying and addressing these structural inequalities through working with policy and decision makers, professionals and families to ensure our vision is wholly inclusive.

What our supporters think


Adfam is a registered charity number 1067428.