The purpose of Celebrating Families! is to increase protective factors and decrease risk factors in participants’ lives to nurture resilience for children and families in recovery from the effects of substance use disorders.

Break the Cycle of Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) in the Family

• Educate participants, age-appropriately, about substance use disorders (SUDs).
• Educate participants about the impact of SUDs on the family.
• Create safe, nurturing spaces for children and parents/caregivers to understand and express feelings.
• Celebrate and support the diverse cultures, structures, and values of families, fostering an inclusive environment that recognizes and respects their unique contributions and perspectives.
• Build trust with consistent role models.
• Integrate trauma-informed practices to help families recognize and mitigate the long-term effects of trauma, fostering resilience and healing.

Promote Healthy Living and Reduce Substance Use

• Enhance communication and anger management skills.
• Educate about the negative effects of alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, and other substances.
• Develop coping, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Identify and utilize available resources for help.
• Educate families about recognizing and addressing learning challenges and co-occurring mental health challenges alongside SUDs in a supportive manner.
• Increase respect for healthy environments and supportive systems for ongoing recovery support for
  the family.
• Introduce holistic wellness practices, including mindfulness, gratitude, exercise, and healthy eating, to support sustained recovery and overall family well-being.

Support Family Treatment and Reunification

• Improve family reunification, organization, and cohesion.
• Increase positive interactions and children’s well-being.
• Decrease time to reunification and parental reintervention for their SUD.

Build Healthy Relationships

• Educate on the importance of “safe people” to protect and maintain support/safety.
• Educate about trauma and the impact of ineffective communication on children.
• Build effective communication skills, conflict identification, and resolution management.
• Educate about supportive versus abusive relationships.
• Develop an understanding of personal boundaries and effective coping mechanisms.

These guiding principles represent a set of values we hold and strive to act upon in our work with families and communities through the implementation of celebrating families as a trainer, facilitator, and or community champion. We trust that these guiding principles will remain at the heart of your work as a representative of the model.

A belief that…
All parents love their children
Families tell us who they are – we accept and welcome all of them
Substance use disorders and mental health challenges are not predestined; they have both genetic and environmental causes
Recovery is a process; everyone has the ability to learn new skills, and everyone learns differently
It is possible to break the inter-generational cycle of the disease of addiction

An intention to…
Be a community of lifelong learners, we are not experts
Honor and respect the vital role of parents in their children’s lives
Create safe nurturing relationships based on trust
Be authentic and enter into our work knowing who we are and what we bring
Listen to and accept what is shared withholding judgment

An understanding that…
People’s stories are important
Diversity is to be welcomed and honored
We learn from each other
We must model healthy living, including recovery
Skills must be taught intentionally
We must challenge societies widely held beliefs about substance use disorders and families
It is important to provide a safe space for participants to grow and develop

We honor and respect children by…
Providing a safe setting for them to learn
Being intentional in our activities
Recognizing parents are the experts of their experience with their children
Modeling healthy living
Knowing we learn from them
Understanding they are developing and learning new skills and behaviors
Listening to them and following their lead