Families For Addiction Recovery
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Mission Statement
The mission of Families for Addiction Recovery (FAR) is to support families affected by substance use disorder (SUD), educate the medical profession, law enforcement and general public about SUD, advocate for protective health laws and drug policies, end stigma and protect our families from the legal and illegal drug trades. Our vision is long term recovery for those with SUD and their families.
About This Cause
Direct Peer Support Services FAR provides three peer support services for family caregivers across Canada whose children (regardless of age) have SUD. All our services are free. 1. Parent-To-Parent (P2P) Program FAR’s P2P program supported in excess of 145 caregivers in 2020, marking a 45% increase from over 100 in 2019. There is currently a six-to-eight-week waitlist for these services. The P2P Program matches caregivers seeking support with our trained volunteer parent supporters, all of whom have lived experience as the parent of a child with SUD. We have 21 mothers and 6 fathers who are volunteer supporters. Two of our volunteer supporters are Indigenous. One volunteer supporter is bilingual in French. We match our clients to their supporters based on a number of factors including the gender of the child with SUD, the substances they use and any other mental health conditions they may have. There is a considerable amount of time and effort put in to the matching process to ensure we can best need the needs of our clients. FAR’s volunteer supporters have approximately twenty hours of training in the Invitation to Change Approach developed by the CMC: Foundation for Change. This is an evidence-based, non-confrontational, family-centred and compassionate approach to caring for those with SUD and involves the principles of CRAFT, MI and ACT. P2P offers 8 conversations of up to one hour each with the parent supporter usually over a two-month period. P2P supporters do not provide advice on what to do in a specific situation, but they can help caregivers understand SUD and provide guidance on how to make difficult decisions. Our supporters: • Listen to the caregiver’s experience • Let them know that they are not alone and that there is hope • Point caregivers to resources to educate themselves about SUD and other mental health conditions • Discuss coping skills and setting boundaries • Talk about how to communicate with, and relate to, a child in active addiction Parent Testimonials • “I was able to open up about my daughter – I didn’t have anyone to talk to about it before. It helped me accept more and understand better. My P2P supporter was a lifesaver.” • “Our supporter gave us the confidence to deal with the issues, the more I spoke with her, the more confident I was in dealing with my son.” • “I was combating him like he was my enemy. I learned that anger does not help.” 2. Online Parent Support Groups (Online Groups) FAR holds four support group meetings per month online. The 1½ hour meetings provide a safe space where caregivers can discuss practical strategies, find support, as well as share resources and information helpful to them. These groups use the principles of CRAFT, MI and ACT. They are facilitated by trained parent volunteers with lived experience. The groups also allow FAR to support caregivers who are on the waitlist for our P2P Program. Our groups range in size from 2-15 with the average being 6. 3. Telephone Support Line FAR operates a phone support line from 1-3 pm EST each weekday which is run by a trained parent supporter with lived experience.