Children Need Help Too! Resources for Information and Help and Children in families experiencing alcohol There is help available in your local community. Drug or drug abuse need attention, guidance and Look in the Yellow Pages under support. They may be growing up in homes in for treatment programs and self-help groups. which the problems are either denied or Call your county health department and ask Happens in the covered up. for licensed treatment programs in your community. Keep trying until you find the Best of Families These children need to have their experiences right help for your loved one, yourself and your validated. They also need safe, reliable adults family. Ask a family therapist for a referral to a in whom to confide and who will support trained interventionist or, call the Intervention them, reassure them, and provide them with Resource Center at 1-888-421-4321. appropriate help for their age. They need to have fun and just be kids. Self-Help Groups Al-Anon Family Groups Families with alcohol and drug problems usually www.al-anon.org have high levels of stress and confusion. High stress family environments are a risk factor for Alateen early and dangerous substance use, as well as www.alateen.org mental and physical health problems. www.aa.org It is important to talk honestly with children about what is happening in the family and to Adult Children of Alcoholics help them express their concerns and feelings. www.adultchildren.org Children need to trust the adults in their lives and to believe that they will support them. For a pastoral counseling center in your community, visit www.aapc.org Children living with alcohol or drug abuse in the family can benefit from participating in For More Information educational support groups in their school SAMHSA’s National Helpline student assistance programs. Those age 11 1-800-662-HELP …and It Hurts and older can join Alateen groups, which meet www.findtreatment.samhsa.gov in community settings and provide healthy connections with others coping with similar National Association for Children issues. Being associated with the activities of a of Alcoholics faith community can also help. www.nacoa.org It doesn’t have to be that way

National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES and Mental Health Services Administration www.ncadd.org www.samhsa.gov It Doesn’t Have to be That Way Family Intervention Can Start the Healing

Drug or alcohol dependence disorders are Getting a loved one to agree to accept help, and medical conditions that can be effectively finding support services for all family members treated. Millions of Americans and their families are the first steps toward healing for the addicted are in healthy recovery from this disease. person and the entire family.

If someone close to you misuses alcohol or When an addicted person is reluctant to seek drugs, the first step is to be honest about the help, sometimes family members, friends, and Alcohol and Drug Abuse Hurts Everyone problem and to seek help for yourself, your associates come together out of concern and in the Family family, and your loved one. love, to confront the problem drinker. They strongly urge the person to enter treatment and Treatment can occur in a variety of settings, in list the serious consequences of not doing so, Dependence on alcohol and drugs is our most many different forms, and for different lengths such as family breakup or job loss. serious national public health problem. It is of time. Stopping the alcohol or drug use is the prevalent among rich and poor, in all regions of first step to recovery, and most people need help This is called “intervention.” When carefully the country, and all ethnic and social groups. to stop. Often a person with alcohol or drug prepared and done with the guidance of a dependence will need treatment provided by competent, trained specialist, the family, friends Millions of Americans misuse or are dependent professionals just as with other diseases. Your and associates are usually able to convince their on alcohol or drugs. Most of them have families doctor may be able to guide you. loved one – in a firm and loving manner – that who suffer the consequences, often serious, of the only choice is to accept help and begin the living with this illness. If there is alcohol or drug “What is Substance Abuse road to recovery. dependence in your family, remember you are Treatment? A Booklet for not alone. Families” - was written especially People with alcohol or drug dependence for family members and is available problems can and do recover. Intervention is Most individuals who abuse alcohol or drugs through SAMHSA’s National often the first step. have jobs and are productive members of society Helpline 1-800-662-HELP. creating a false hope in the family that “it’s not that bad.”

The problem is that addiction tends to worsen over time, hurting both the addicted person and all the family members. It is especially damaging to young children and adolescents.

People with this illness really may believe that they drink normally or that “everyone” takes drugs. These false beliefs are called denial; this denial is a part of the illness.