How to contact us
Call our confidential freephone helpline on 1800 459 459 from Monday to Friday between 9:30 am and 5:30 pm.
Email us at any time on helpline@hse.ie
You can email to ask for a callback or opt to leave a voicemail to ask for a callback.
What we do
We provide a free confidential place where you can talk through your concerns about drugs or alcohol, get information about services and consider the options available to you to improve your situation.
How we can help you
We provide support, information, guidance and referral on anything to do with substance use and alcohol. We will not tell you what to do but will help you to consider the options open to you, with a particular focus on your needs in the situation.
We will simply support you by talking through what’s happening, how it's impacting you and help you to name what outcome you want for the future.
If you want information on services, we can give you contact details.
You can find more information on services through www.askaboutalcohol.ie and www.drugs.ie.
Information for parents about young people and alcohol
Sample situations we can help with
- A mother, concerned that her 15-year-old son is using weed. She wants to understand what approaches work best in this situation so that she can influence him to stop.
- A man who has been using cocaine and alcohol. He wants to find out what services are available to him so that he can get help to stop using cocaine and alcohol and address the debts that he has.
- A woman in her forties finds that each time she goes out she gets drunk. She is concerned that she has not been able to drink more moderately. She wants to talk this through with a professional to get tips for cutting down and regaining control over her drinking.
- A person doing an addiction studies course has to complete a project on drugs in Ireland but has not done any project work before this. He/she wants guidance on where to go to find reliable statistical information on drugs in Ireland.
- A doctor, social worker or teacher encounters someone in their work that needs help, contacts the Helpline for information on services and how to proceed.
- A person concerned for an adult in their life who is drinking at dangerous levels and who is unwilling to get help.
This service operates in accordance with Child Safeguarding legislation. If we have concerns in relation to the welfare of a child, we will share those with Tusla - The Child and Family Agency.
