Hello Karen, Welcome to SR! I think you are very wise to not bring children into a living situation with an active alcoholic. If you would like to learn more about the effects of raising a child in an alcoholic home, please do not hesitate to read through the threads in our Adult Children of Addict/Alcoholic Parents forum.
I think encouraging him to seek recovery is great! I just hope that you understand that for recovery to work, it has to be something he really wants for himself.
Keep reading, keep posting and learn all you can about alcoholism. It helps, no matter what you decide to do.