Family Association
Supporting a child or family member who is trying to manage with drug or alcohol addiction can be the most exhausting, frustrating, confusing and terrifying experience of your life. Our parent and guardian family support group can provide a lifeline for families in despair
People who are addicted to drugs or alcohol can be very manipulative and are mainly focused, often to the exclusion of everyone else, on getting their next drink or fix. Their mind and body craves drugs or alcohol and it is extremely difficult – and sometimes dangerous – for them not to feed their addiction.
Many parents and guardians we meet through the course of our work, feel isolated, ashamed, afraid, angry and emotionally and physically drained. Worrying, every second of the day and night, about what your child is doing, who they are with, if they are using drugs again, takes its toll on the family. Substance addiction affects all those who are in contact with, or have a relationship with, the user. This effect is sometimes described like a drop of water dripping in a pool, the consequences of the person’s addiction spread out from the centre like rings, touching everyone and everything in their life.
If you can relate to any of the emotions and feelings described above, take heart that you are not alone and that there is support for you too.
Coolmine runs a weekly Parent and Guardian Support Group on Thursday evenings. You do not have to have a child or dependant in one of our programmes to seek help, this programme is all about you. During these sessions, participants are invited to share their experiences, ask for advice and to support one another through good times and bad. The meetings provide an informal way to get the support you need.
In addition to our weekly support groups, you can ask for a confidential one-to-one meeting with our dedicated Family Support Worker, if you are in a family crisis. During these sessions, we offer support and guidance, and provide you with information about what services are available for your child or dependant, if they are seeking help.
To find out more about our Family Support Service, please contact Marian Slavin on 087 982 2203 or via email: marian@coolminetc.ie
The Parent and Guardian Support Group meets on Thursday at 7pm for an educational workshop followed by a support group session from 8–9:30pm once a week at our office at c/o Focus Ireland, Johns Lane West, Dublin 2. To find out more about the experiences of our support group members, watch Dave’s video diary. This is an extract from a letter written by one of the partcipants:
I attend the support group meetings on a Thursday night. I find it very comforting to be part of this group of people who share some of my problems and feelings.
When I first came to the meetings, I was desperate and lonely. When other people shared about how they coped with similar situations that I was encountering, I listened. Gradually, as I practiced other ways of behaving around my family member, I began to see changes in my life.
Everyone is made to feel so welcome when they come to the support group. There is great understanding for each person’s problems. The Coolmine family support group is absolutely fantastic, thank you Coolmine.