On August 31st each year, the world unites to remember those we have lost to overdose. We take this time to educate about the risks and emphasize the importance of prevention. We lose far too many to overdose each year, and many of them are parents. In May, NIDA (the National Institute on Drug Abuse), confirmed that more than 320,000 children in the United States have lost a parent to a drug overdose from 2011 to 2021.
This year, when raising awareness about the reality of overdose and the importance of prevention in our communities on this important day of advocacy, include these affected children in your discussions and your messaging. Share this figure to help people realize that many children, so often the first hurt and the last helped with the disease addiction, are often abandoned to struggle with their grief by themselves.
Read and share this year’s blog Overdose and Grief: Children Need Our Support and provide supportive resources to caring adults in the community to better understand how to support these kids and teens in need.
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Across the country, students have already returned to classrooms, or they are busy with school supply purchases and final preparations to do so soon. NACoA wishes all our students, and our school faculties, a wonderful academic year ahead.
Children who lost parents over the summer often struggle with the transition to return to school. Eluna and the Coalition to Support Grieving Students provide some helpful guidance in its Back to School Transitions for Grieving Students.
If your school is considering creating educational support groups for children impacted by addiction, learn more about NACoA’s Children’s Program Kit. The kit provides over 100 skill-based and developmentally appropriate lesson plans for students K- 12 . Contact NACoA to learn more about how to create effective programs to help nurture resilience in these children. Let us know how we can support you in bringing hope and healing to your students.
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NACoA ACOA Online Education and Discussion Group
Monthly Meetings Facilitated by NACoA and Colleen Perry
Join NACoA and host Colleen Perry for monthly meetings ideally suited for adult children who have been impacted by addiction, looking for education and support through an online facilitated group. Each meeting features an expert presenting on important topics facing adults nurturing their own resilience, followed by an opportunity for attendees to speak freely. Meetings are held at 6 pm ET, the second Thursday each month.
August 22, 6pm ET Topic: Healing Hearts: The Power of Forgiving Ourselves and Others This meeting has been rescheduled from August 8th.
Presenter: Tammy Vincent, Life Coach, Speaker and Author
This discussion will offer insights and practical strategies to foster a forgiving mindset, essential for breaking free from past traumas and building a healthier future. Tailored for individuals with addictions, those in recovery, and adult children impacted by the disease of addiction.
Register>>
September 12, 6pm ET Topic: Double Recovery: Healing from Addiction and the Family Impact
Presenter: John Durbin, CADC II, SUDCC II
Addiction tends to run in families, and many COAs develop addiction themselves. Recovery from both the impact of the disease and the disease is possible. Learn about using perspective and perseverance to strengthen this “double recovery” as we nurture it in our families.
Register>>
Register for all 2024 ACOA Meetings>>
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Exploring Emotions for Kids of All Ages: An Inside Out Perspective
Wednesday 8/28 at 1:30 pm ET
Presenter: Margaret Swift Thompson
Executive Director of Embrace Family Recovery, LLC & Author
Acquire practical knowledge about the fascinating world of emotions through the lens of Pixar’s acclaimed films “Inside Out” and “Inside Out 2.” This webinar will delve into the complex interplay of emotions that shape our daily experiences and influence our behavior while also considering the impact of being a child of people with addiction.
Learn More and To Register>>
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Hope is a Strategy
Thursday, September 5th at 1:30 pm ET
Presenter: William C. Moyers
VP Public Affairs & Community Relations, Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation
For decades, William C. Moyers has been a public face of recovery for the renowned Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. As a result, thousands of people, families and communities have turned to him for help to overcome substance use issues. But what happened when the plea for help hit close to home, in his own family? Join us for a special webinar, a conversation about his new memoir: Broken Open.
Learn More about this soon-to-be released memoir>>
To Register>>
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Groupwork with COAs – Challenges and Opportunities
Tuesday, October 15th at 1:30 pm ET
Presenter: Peggy McGillicuddy, MEd, CTSS
NACoA Director of Children’s Programs
Children and teens growing up in families impacted by addiction face numerous struggles. For facilitators working with these kids and teens, group work offers both challenges and opportunities. This webinar is designed to address challenges, ideas for improvement, and to answer specific questions professionals may grapple with while working with this population.
Learn More and To Register>>
NACoA is a NAADAC Education Provider; you will receive one NAADAC service hour CEU for attending NACoA live presentations.
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Tweens & Teens Talk: Inside Out
Tuesday, September 10th at 7:30 pm ET
Event Host: NACoA and Margaret Swift Thompson
Executive Director of Embrace Family Recovery, LLC & Author
Calling all Tweens & Teens! Come dressed as your favorite character or wear your favorite character’s color! We’ll discuss highlights from the movie, all the feels, and what can happen when your emotions take over. Make some new friends and gain tips and strategies to help you manage your own emotions, so they don’t manage you!
Learn More and To Register>>
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NACoA Blog
Each month NACoA publishes important blogs to help educate about the impact of addiction on children, how to help kids and teens heal, and what adults can do who are still struggling with the impact. Resilience is available for children of all ages, and NACoA provides information, education, and additional resources through these informative and reflective articles.
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L.E.A.P. – (Linn’s Emerging Adult Plan)
Toni Bellon
Read about 14-year-old Linn’s secret story of survival while growing up with a mother who struggled with an alcohol use disorder. While waiting for her alcoholic mother and codependent father to grow up, Linn becomes known as the family liar, despite the Don’t Talk rule about her mother’s addiction. This is a comical take on a very real situation that many teens – and even adults – can identify with and find comfort. Author Toni Bellon retired as Assistant Dean of Education from the University of North Georgia. She left to care for her alcoholic mother who suffered from dementia and Parkinson’ s. During that time, writing became cathartic. Toni uses humor, hoping that her snarky view of life brings a smile to anyone who’s reading.
Broken Open: What Painkillers Taught Me About Life and Recovery
William Moyers
William Cope Moyers was a model of sober success. As his inspiring story of overcoming addiction was on its way to becoming a New York Times bestseller, everyone thought he had finally achieved the redemption promised by recovery—including him. But the perfect story that helped Moyers become a famous face of the recovery movement was already unraveling, revealing a yet-to-be healed chasm between his public persona and conflicted inner life. A follow-up to his 2006 memoir Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption, this is Moyers’s story of the ups and downs of life beyond the bright moments of early sobriety and what happened when a new crisis invaded what once seemed like a steady and secure recovery. William C. Moyers is the Vice President of Public Affairs and community relations for Hazelden Betty Ford, based in Minnesota. He has appeared on Larry King Live, the Oprah Winfrey show, Good Morning America and National Public Radio. William has written four brooks, including Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption, a New York Times bestseller that remains in print. Broken Open: What Painkillers Taught Me About Life and Recovery is due out September 3rd, and is available for preorder now.
Learn More and read a free sample chapter here>>
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Doors to Hope:
Helping Families Recover From Addiction
Sunday, September 15th, 12 – 4:30 pm, Savannah, GA
NACoA’s CEO Denise Bertin-Epp and Director of Children’s Programs Peggy McGillicuddy, MEd, CTSS will be keynote speakers at the afternoon event hosted by the Interfaith Addiction & Recovery Coalition. This coalition is committed to help the faith community of Savannah GA be prepared to discuss addiction and recovery with their congregations. This program will provide information, strategies and tools designed to empower anyone providing care and support to families affected by the disease of addiction.
Learn More>>
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September – Recovery Month – is a busy month of advocacy in the addiction community. It is also FASD Awareness Month, with important information and events focused on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. NACoA will be sharing more important information about the risks for our youngest of children while in utero, and how to support families dealing with FASD. Mark your calendars for these events being offered early during the month to help our families:
FASD and the IEP Mentorship Coalition
September 12 @ 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm PT
This program recognizes and focuses on the need for ongoing growth and education specific to the needs of students with FASD within the special education system. This is a monthly meeting held on the second Thursday of every month from 5:30pm – 7:00pm PT. Sessions combine direct interaction, discourse, case studies, and education relating to FASD & the IEP. Group participation and respectful dialogue is encouraged. Some prior knowledge of FASD and of IEPs required.
FASD: Never Alone
September 14 @ 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm MST
This FREE support group provided by the FASD Collaborative Project is for adults with FASD (18 & up). Sessions include engaging discussions, education, relationships, therapeutic, resources sharing, networking, and advocacy. Sessions are held twice monthly: Saturdays, 12 p.m.
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