'There's hope': Resources for South Jersey Families Battling Addiction

Alcohol and drug addiction affects not just the addict but the family members as well. Since recovery is for a lifetime, everyone has to be involved in the process, not just the recovering addict. In order for recovery to work, family members and loved ones have to be involved. For the addict, there is the 12 step program and the support system while for the loved ones, there has to be education and support to empower the recovering addict from escaping an environment that isn’t enabling the addiction. According to Debu Maines, a major issue is not getting people into treatment at the right time and this includes treatment for both loved ones and addicts. Some of the available resources for the people from South Jersey include the 12-step meetings like The Starting Point meetings in Westmont and family support groups like Deeper Dimensions in Woodbury, The Meeting in West Deptford, Father John’s Family Group in Washington Township, Humble Beginnings in Cherry Hill, Celebrate Recovery in the Gloucester County Community Church, and in the peer-to-peer recovery center which will soon be open in Glassboro. There are also online options since many times family members cannot come together because of conflicting schedules. Two such online resource are Addiction Really (Facebook) and Center for Family Services which are local -profit groups. In October, there will be a rally for those affected by addiction called Unite to Face Addiction.