Late one evening, a woman picked up the phone, her hands trembling, her heart heavy. She dialled the number to Sikh Helpline, feeling utterly drained. Her voice shook as she began to explain her husband’s struggle with alcohol, a problem that had now transformed into a relentless addiction. For so long, she had been trying everything she could to help him, to salvage their love and their family, but she felt the weight of helplessness pressing down on her.
“ I just want us to be okay again,”
she whispered, her words carrying a mixture of love, fear, and exhaustion. Despite her endless support, her husband’s drinking had spiralled into something beyond her control. The toll was more than she could bear alone.
What broke her heart most was how this struggle was affecting their children. She could still remember the way her child looked up at her one day, innocent eyes filled with confusion, and asked,
“ Why does Dad drink so much, Mummy? ”
Each time, the questions chipped away at her, leaving her feeling more helpless. How could she explain this to them? How could she protect them?
When she reached out to SHL, she didn’t know what to expect, but she felt as though she had nowhere else to turn. To her relief, the sikh helpline volunteer on the other end responded with compassion and understanding. “We can help him and you very quickly,” they assured her. In that moment, for the first time in what felt like forever, she felt a glimmer of hope.
The team at Sikh Helpline gently encouraged her to have her husband reach out to them himself. Despite the complexities of the situation, she held onto the hope that maybe just maybe this could be the beginning of a turning point for them. When she spoke to her husband about it, he felt the urgency too. He knew he couldn’t stand by as his family slipped further away from him.
With her support, he made the call. He listened as sikh helpline volunteer explained their process, detailing the path he could take to regain control over his life and protect the ones he loved. He realised, perhaps for the first time, just how much was at stake not only his health but the happiness and safety of his family. And so, he consented. He committed himself to this journey of recovery, vowing to save his family from the brink of breaking apart.
Since then, the family has received both emotional and addiction support. Day by day, they are healing together. The wife, once overcome with fear, now feels a renewed sense of hope and strength. Her heart swells with gratitude every time she sees the changes in her husband, in her children, and in herself.
Reflecting on it all, she’s glad she made that call to SIkh Helpline, that she reached out when hope felt almost impossible to grasp. The road ahead may not be easy, but they are walking it together stronger, braver, and more determined than ever to make it through as a family.