Families Strong WV is a free support group that is offered exclusively to West Virginians who have a loved one with substance use issues.

Our groups meet online or in-person each week for up to 1.5 hours. During group meetings, participants share experiences, learn tools to help them cope, and explore resources to help themselves and their loved ones.

These Meetings Are Not Group Therapy

If you or your loved one needs treatment, therapy, or medical help, this program is not for you. Instead, we recommend contacting an appropriate facility to handle more serious healthcare needs. Take a look at findhelp.org—it is an excellent resource to find a treatment facility or mental healthcare practitioner. And it even includes resources to help your loved one find a job, ways to improve their credit, and more.

Our Goals

The primary goal of Families Strong WV is to reduce how substance use issues affect families in West Virginia. There are many programs already developed to provide treatment and support for the individual with a substance use issue. But there are few resources available to the family and friends of the substance user, and fewer still that are affordable.

That’s why we created Families Strong. 

We developed this program because we understand that it is difficult to know where to turn when you have a loved one with a substance use issue. We understand that the relationship with the substance user can put a strain on your family, on your resources, and on you. Families Strong was developed to help you navigate through and better cope with these circumstances.

We have found that an integral part of successful treatment for a person with a substance use issue is the family and friends around them. We have also found that those very caregivers are often at the end of their rope emotionally, mentally, and even physically and financially, because of the stress and worry that comes with loving someone with a substance use issue.

Our research has shown that if we can provide support, tools, and techniques to help the family and friends of someone with a substance use issue, then together we can:

• Create a safer, healthier environment for everyone affected by substance use
• Minimize the negative effects of the substance use on family and friends
• Have a better chance of getting help for the individual who uses substances
• Provide lasting tools and techniques that can help family and friends cope better—and even thrive—when any adverse situation occurs in the future

Still have questions? Contact us.