COA Awareness Week 2025 SHINE A LIGHT AROUND THE WORLD ON HIDDEN HURTS February 9 - 15th, 2025
COA Awareness Week honors the struggle of children around the world dealing with the disease of addiction in their families and empowers caring adults who want to help them. NACoA provides essential resources for this important week of advocacy to help understand this impact, to raise awareness in your communities, and help support children:
• COA Awareness Week 2025 Advocacy Toolkit
• COA Awareness Week 2025 Speaker Series
• International Materials Available in 16 languages
Visit NACoA’s website to learn more and explore the event resources and educational resources that help communities support children and families impacted by SUDs all year long. During COA Awareness Week, we can work together to shine a light on hidden hurts so that kids and teens around the world can find hope and healing.
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NACoA’s Staff Continues to Grow |
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Strategic Partnerships & Public Policy Developmen |
| Children’s Program Facilitator |
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Our staff attracts caring adults with expertise and experience to increase our ability to live our mission and eliminate the adverse impact of alcohol and substance use on children and families. We are grateful for their passion and commitment to these children. Welcome! Visit our website to learn more about the NACoA Team.
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NACoA Collaboration with Hanley Foundation for New Children’s Program
Hanley, in collaboration with NACoA, launched their first free 3-day children’s program, for kids impacted by SUD (substance use disorder) in families. Kudos to Hanley, the largest provider of SUD prevention services in FL, for recognizing the community need! Congrats to Jerry Moe and Peggy McGillicuddy for facilitating this training with John Dyben and team Hanley. Visit the Hanely website to learn more about their children’s program.
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New Advisory from the Surgeon General
Today, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued an advisory highlighting the link between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk. He recommends that alcoholic beverages carry warning labels about these risks. Read the Advisory>>
At NACoA, we are dedicated to supporting children and families affected by alcohol use. This new advisory underscores the importance of awareness and education about alcohol's health impacts. We encourage families to have open conversations about alcohol use and its potential risks. By fostering understanding, we can work together to create healthier environments for our children.
For more information and resources, Visit Our Website.
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Michigan Celebrating Families! Training to Train Clinicians So grateful to River's Bend LLC for letting us use their space to train MI clinicians about Celebrating Families! and the Children's Program Kit. It was a wonderful three days with passionate professionals anxious to provide children/family programs to help families heal from the impact of SUDs. |
PM Environmental Generosity Helps NACoA Live Our Mission
NACoA is grateful to PM Environmental for their recent check presentation to the NACoA Janie Fleckenstein Children's Art Therapy Fund, presented during the clinical community training at the River's Bend LLC Troy office. This fund supports the inclusion of art therapy in programs to help children heal from the impact of SUDs in their families. Thank you PM Environmental for your generous donation and huge heart.
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NACoA ACOA Online Education and Discussion Group
These meetings are designed to educate adults about the impact of the disease of addiction on children, and how it can continue to affect them in adulthood. Through these presentations, adults can learn more about the impact, find hope that support is available, and learn how to heal from this impact and live healthier lives. Past meeting presentations are now available on NACoA’s website. This ever-expanding list of presentations include: What is an ACOA and resilience?; Being a Child, What It Feels Like and How it Impacts Us; Healing Through Parenting: For You and Your Family; and much more. These meetings are provided on the second Thursday of each month, at 6pm ET.
Upcoming Meetings January 9, 6 pm ET
Topic: Achieving Outstanding Recovery, Being a Positive Influence vs. an Unhealthy Caretaker
Presenter: Steve Feldman, CEO, Feinberg Consulting, Inc
This session will explore the important influences that are present in a meaningful and healthy life for family recovery. Our past does not define us, and healing is possible. Steve has always been passionate about helping other people. He finds great fulfillment in helping individuals and families move from feeling hopeless to having hope and experiencing healing. He is also motivated by creating a respectful, congruent, compassionate, and supportive culture within the Feinberg Consulting, Inc.
His educational background comes from lived experience. He has been an entrepreneur and business owner since 1980 and been on a path of recovery and self-improvement since the early 90s. The combination of his professional and personal journey has led to today.
To Register>> February 13, 6 pm ET
Topic: Lifestyle Medicine: How to Nurture a Healthy Wellbeing
Presenter: Claire Libby MSc, Certified health coach and Director/Founder of “i am me”
Claire Libby is a certified health coach and the Director and Founder of 'i am me', the Community Interest Company that supports the mental health and wellbeing of young people. As a child of an alcohol dependent parent Claire has made it her life’s work to ensure that all young people gain the support that they need to flourish, by helping them to develop helpful coping strategies that support their own sense of wellbeing. Via the free i am me app, which supplies resources including tools, tips, and insights, 'i am me' enables teenagers and young adults to understand what it takes to become active participants in their own mental health and wellbeing journey. Claire is also a Director at Linac Learning, a consultancy specializing in Learning and Development.
To Register>> |
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. |
Cannabis and Adolescents Webinar – Jan 15th at 1 pm ET Learn more about the impact of cannabis on adolescents with this educational webinar with industry leaders Dr. Mark Gold and Dr. Sara Vinson, hosted by Addiction Policy Form.
Learn More and to Register>>
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Study Finds Perceptions of Parent Cannabis Use Shape Teen Attitudes
Never forget your children are watching. " 'Parents need to recognize that their use matters,' said Stacey J. T. Hust, lead author of the study and a professor of communication at WSU. 'If teens perceive their parents use cannabis, whether they actually do or not, it can send the message that the behavior is also acceptable for them, especially without explicit conversations that set boundaries for the teen.' " Read this article to learn more about how important it is to model healthy habits for your teens, and being thoughtful when discussing such an important topic.
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