The problems of alcohol abuse in Merseyside, England, are well-known, with a study by Liverpool John Moores University showing the city to have the highest level of hospital admissions in the UK linked to alcohol.
However, Liverpool is also “the recovery capital,” according to Carl Alderdice, manager of Brink, in Parr Street, which is Britain’s first “dry” bar.
The bar, which has been open since the end of September, is a social enterprise run by a limited company.
“We are self-funded, and invest in helping people with drug and alcohol addictions,” said Alderdice, who has years of experience running bars in Liverpool.
The original initiative for the bar came from the charity Action on Addiction, which saw the impact of alcohol abuse on homelessness. It is linked to the Sharp recovery service in the city.
“I was originally brought in through a consultancy role and was asked about the feasibility of a dry bar,” Alderdice said. While Liverpool has many cafes, “the difference is that we actively say we’re a dry bar.”
Brink’s customers are not just those who are in recovery and want an alcohol-free venue, but also many who want to avoid what Alderdice terms the “testosterone, drunk and drug-fueled club and bar scene.”
Single women like Brink, as they feel safe there because of the lack of alcohol. It is also popular with members of the Muslim community.
Stressing Liverpool’s position as “recovery capital,” he points to the 33 AA groups meeting in the city each week, as well as many meetings of Narcotics Anonymous and Cocaine Anonymous.
Brink has another role; in addition to providing a social outlet for those wishing to avoid alcohol, it has been a means for those in recovery to re-enter the workforce.
Many of the staff have had issues with alcohol in the past that have prevented them from working.
The staff are trained as “recovery champions” who are able to listen to those with a similar history. There are meeting rooms and a counselor who visits regularly.
Alderdice feels that the bar is breaking down stereotypes of those in recovery and sees potential to expand to other cities. If it stops one alcohol-related admission per week to the city’s hospitals, he feels they will have made an important contribution to Liverpool.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including