Beginning Tuesday, Oct. 27, Cordova Community Medical Center’s Sound Alternatives clinic will offer a free online support group for friends and family of individuals with addiction. Meetings of the Help & Hope support group will be facilitated by licensed clinical social worker Ruby Vincent.
The group will meet from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesdays via Zoom. Anyone wishing to join can obtain login info by calling 424-8300.
Initial meetings may include discussions based on readings or anecdotes, but the program will take a flexible approach to meet the needs of community members, said Barb Jewell, behavioral health program manager for Sound Alternatives. Previously, projects like this one have been difficult to get off the ground, Jewell said. However, the public has consistently asked CCMC for more assistance with substance abuse issues.
“When people are dealing with addiction, whether it’s their own or a family member’s, there’s a sense of isolation, of being cut off from other people,” Jewell said. “Support groups are intended to break down those barriers and isolation… to be connected to people who have had similar experiences, and to learn from each other. Isolation is not healthy.”
The group will offer the public an opportunity to share strategies for managing the stress that can occur when a friend or family member is dealing with addiction, Jewell said. Help & Hope meetings will be confidential, but not anonymous.
