This month, The Mom of an Addict, Inc. celebrates one year of holding support group meetings for parents (and other family members) who have been affected by their child’s substance use disorder.

The first meeting was held June 18, 2019 at The Chapel in Fort Wayne, and meetings have been held each Tuesday at 6:30 since. The weekly meetings contain both an educational and a support component. A curriculum of 17 lessons and a host of guest speakers make up the educational piece. Small sharing groups bring the support element to life and help to foster connections between and among parents.

To commemorate one year of meetings, a celebration will be held on Tuesday, June 23 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at Foster Park pavilion #1. Food will be served, and there will be information about the meetings. Those who have been attending meetings along with families who are interested in learning more are encouraged to attend.

“We regularly hear parents say that because of our group, they are in a much better place and aren’t the same person they were a year ago,” says founder and CEO Jennifer Hope. “When your child is battling substance use disorder, you often don’t know who is safe to talk to about the things your family is experiencing. Unless you have been awake for nights in a row wondering where your child is, unless you have had to tell your child he can’t live at home anymore or unless you have watched your child turn into a person you barely recognize, you don’t understand what it is like to mourn someone who is still alive. At our meetings, we all just ‘get’ each other.”

As the only group in the Fort Wayne area who focuses on the parent-child relationship, The Mom of an Addict offers a unique approach. While other family members are welcome and are encouraged to attend, the lessons zero in on being the parent of a child who is battling substance use disorder. Meeting attenders include parents/families who have children in active addiction, have children who are incarcerated, have children who are in recovery and who have lost their child to the disease.

The leaders at The Mom of an Addict, Inc. have three main goals: to educated parents and grandparents about the disease, to let them know they are not alone and to remind them that there is always hope.

Following a few months of Zoom meetings due to COVID, regular in-person meetings will resume on Tuesday, June at 6:30 PM at The Chapel in Fort Wayne.

The Mom of an Addict, Inc. is a 501(3)(c) organization that exists to provide addiction education and support to families who have a child who suffers from Substance Use Disorder, commonly known as addiction. You can find more information at www.themomofanaddict.org or by following The Mom of an Addict, Inc. on Facebook.