Families play a pivotal role in the path to and through recovery. Research shows that individuals with strong family support have significantly better outcomes, including higher rates of sustained sobriety.
According to SAMHSA, individuals in recovery who receive active support from family members are twice as likely to remain sober and engage successfully with treatment plans.
- Studies reveal that individuals in recovery who have active family involvement are more likely to maintain sobriety and exhibit fewer relapses compared to those without such support.
- Family-supported recovery programs report increased adherence to treatment protocols by over 60% compared to programs without family involvement.
- According to SAMHSA, nearly 90% of people in recovery credit their family and caretakers' emotional support as a significant factor in their continued recovery journey.
Family support enhances the effectiveness of recovery by:
- Family acceptance and understanding decrease the internalized stigma experienced by individuals in recovery, fostering a sense of belonging and reducing isolation.
- Positive family relationships and emotional support significantly boost mental well-being, helping mitigate the risk of co-occurring mental health conditions.
- Families can assist in creating stable routines, encouraging healthy lifestyles, and helping loved ones adhere to recovery plans.
- When families are actively involved, individuals have stronger motivation and accountability, essential components for sustained recovery.
Family and caregivers who access resources, engage in support groups, and commit to ongoing education about recovery are powerful catalysts for change. Their involvement is not just supportive—it can be transformational. Embracing this critical role means recognizing that recovery is a collective journey, strengthened profoundly by compassionate, informed, and unwavering family support.
For additional resources, we have compiled together a Alcohol and Substance Use Disorder Resource Guide, Non-Profit Recovery Resource Guide, LGBTQ+ Recovery Resource Guide, and our Glossary of Addiction and Recovery Terms. We also have a section dedicated to recovery stories and our nonprofit partner, the Break Free Foundation, which provides scholarships for anyone who cannot afford to attend an inpatient treatment center.
If your life or someone else’s is in imminent danger, please call 911. If you are in crisis and need immediate help, please call: 988.
Friends of Recovery – New York (FOR-NY) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with a mission to demonstrate the power and promise of recovery from addictions and its value to individuals, families and communities throughout New York State and the nation. We actively seek to advance public policies and practices that promote and support recovery.
We envision a world in which recovery from addiction is not only common, but celebrated; a world in which the entire spectrum of effective prevention, treatment and support services are available and accessible to all.
Join our Family Advisory Committee! The Mobilize Recovery Family Advisory Committee is an initiative between Mobilize Recovery and Partnership to End Addiction.
We are impacted family members and loved ones who work collectively to provide evidence-based resources and trainings, tools for advocacy, and mutual peer support. We support all pathways to recovery and person-centered approaches that prioritize dignity, respect, and compassion. We feel that impacted family members and loved ones are vital in reducing the shame, prejudice, and discrimination associated with substance use.
The Family Advisory Committee has two monthly virtual meetings (1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month) to create a space where family members can have a learning collaborative with workshops, discussions, and trainings.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City (NAMI-NYC), which has been providing support to families and individuals affected by mental illness for over 40 years, has developed culturally responsive programs to help address the mental health needs of the Latino community. Our Helpline provides information, education, and support in Spanish and 180 other languages. We’ve also developed our classes in Spanish, including Bases De Familia a Familia (Family-to-Family), as well as our Familiares y Amistades support group.
We’re focused on preventing and addressing substance use disorders by providing families, communities, and professionals with practical knowledge they can trust to support young people at risk or struggling with addiction. With decades of expertise in research and collaboration, Partnership to End Addiction is uniquely positioned to provide tools to prevent addiction, promote early intervention, and support recovery.
We help loved ones, caregivers, and professionals to support adolescents and young adults. Our experts also drive prevention and treatment efforts across communities. All of our family services and resources are available in both English and Spanish.
SAFE Project and Partnership to End Addiction integrated the first-of-its-kind online Family Support Locator to our existing SAFE Treatment Locator. A powerful addition, it’s the nation’s first searchable database focused on providing programs, supports, and other services for families and friends of people with substance use disorder and/or mental health challenges along with treatment options. By creating a free, searchable locator for local and national resources, together we can help individuals, families, and caregivers find the support and services they need in their own communities.
AAPI Family & Friends
Offered by NAMI-NYC, this group is for adults who identify as Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) and have a loved one living with mental illness or any mental health challenge. This includes South Asians, East Asians, Southeast Asians, North Asians, Middle East Asians, and Pacific Islanders. 1st Wednesday, 6 to 7:30 pm ET. Closed captioning is available.
This group provides opportunities to share valuable coping strategies and practical information that helps you support your loved ones experiencing mental health challenges.
Adult Children of Alcoholics
Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA)/ Dysfunctional Families is a Twelve Step, Twelve Tradition program of people who grew up in dysfunctional homes. We meet to share our experience of growing up in an environment where abuse, neglect and trauma infected us. This affects us today and influences how we deal with all aspects of our lives.
Al-Anon/Alateen
Al-Anon members are people, just like you, who are worried about someone with a drinking problem.
Al-Anon for Parents
Family members have the opportunity to learn from the experiences of others who have faced similar problems.
Black Minds Matter Family & Friends
Offered by NAMI-NYC for adults who identify as Black and have a loved one with a mental illness or symptoms, or any mental health challenge. 1st and 3rd Monday of the month, 6:30 to 8:00 PM ET. Closed captioning is available.
Share valuable coping strategies, and practical information. And get information that helps you support your loved ones living with mental health challenges.
Co-Dependents Anonymous
Somewhere along the line, we learned to doubt our perception, discount our feelings, and overlook our needs. We looked to others to tell us what to think, feel, and behave. Other people supplied us with information about who we were and should be.
Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT)
Community Reinforcement and Family Training, or CRAFT, is an approach for families who have a loved one struggling with substances, but who is not really interested in making changes or getting help. CRAFT is about learning a different method to communicate with and support your loved one.
Join Partnership to End Addiction’s free Online Support Meetings for parents & caregivers of children experimenting with, or dependent on, substances. Hosted by specially trained parent coaches, with clinical oversight. We are solution-based, and we discuss real-life issues, and apply evidence-based skills and techniques to help address them. Also available are tailored meetings for specific situations, such as grief groups.
Families Anonymous
FA is a 12 step fellowship for the family and friends of those individuals with drug, alcohol or related behavioral issues. We are here to help!
Family & Friends of People with Mood Disorders
Family and Friends of People with Co-Occurring Disorders
Offered by NAMI-NYC for all family members and close friends of people living with a mental health condition and substance use challenges. Share your experiences and learn coping strategies from fellow family members. This peer-run group offers support in a welcoming and inclusive environment.
Family & Friends of People with Mood Disorders
Offered by NAMI-NYC for family members and friends of someone with a mood disorder. 3rd Monday of the month, 8-9:30pm ET. Closed captioning is available.
This group provides opportunities to share valuable coping strategies and practical information that helps you support your loved ones experiencing mental health challenges.
Mood disorders include: major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder (mania – euphoric, hyperactive, over inflated ego, unrealistic optimism), persistent depressive disorder (long lasting low grade depression), cyclothymia (a mild form of bipolar disorder), and SAD (seasonal affective disorder). (From www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/mood-disorders)
Family and Friends of People Living with Thoughts of Suicide
Offered by NAMI-NYC. About 12.2 million adults have thoughts of suicide. This group is for their loved ones. Share your experiences and listen to others who are close to someone with suicidal ideation. This group offers support in a welcoming, non-judgmental environment and is facilitated by family members of people with mental health needs. 2nd Tuesday, 4:30pm to 6pm ET. Closed captioning is available.
Family & Friends Support Group
Offered by NAMI-NYC for partners, spouses, siblings, adult children, parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, guardians, caregivers, close friends and other family members of individuals with a mental illness or any mental health challenge.
This group provides opportunities to share valuable coping strategies and practical information that helps you support your loved ones experiencing mental health challenges.
Gam-Anon Family Groups
Gam-Anon® International Service Office, Inc., serves the community of international meetings of the Gam-Anon Family Groups. Gam-Anon provides information for the general public and professional community about problem (compulsive) gambling and its financial and emotional effects on the gamblers’ families and loved ones.
Grief Recovery After Substance Passing (GRASP)
Anyone who has lost a loved one through substance use knows that society treats this loss differently than a death from any other cause. There is the belief that the one who died must have somehow been a bad person. And for those of us left behind, that we too must have somehow been a bad person.
Hearing Voices Family & Friends
Offered by NAMI-NYC for family members and close friends of people who hear voices, see things others do not see, have multiple identities and/or other unusual experiences or beliefs. This group strives to create a supportive place for family members to talk about their experiences without judgement, ridicule, or unsolicited advice. Closed captioning is available.
One in ten people hear voices, making it as common as being left-handed. As a member of the Hearing Voices Network, this group provides a setting for people to share their experiences and benefit from a valuable exchange of first-hand expertise. Members tell their personal stories, listen empathetically to each other, and offer support.
Mom of an Addict
Our meetings are designed to serve families who have been affected by a loved one’s substance use disorder. Through Community, Education and Sharing, our groups provide support, encouragement and resources for families dealing with a loved one’s addiction.
You are not alone. You are welcome here. Whoever you are, wherever you are, we are here to love you through this journey and to remind you there is always HOPE.
Nar-Anon
The Nar-Anon Family Groups is primarily for those who know or have known a feeling of desperation concerning the addiction problem of someone very near to you. We have traveled that unhappy road too, and found the answer with serenity and peace of mind. Narateen is part of the Nar-Anon program for teens affected by someone else’s addiction.
Parents
Offered by NAMI-NYC for all parents of children living with a mental health diagnosis or symptoms, regardless of the child’s age. Parents of children under 18 and parents of adult children are welcome. 1st & 3rd Saturday of the month, 1 to 2:30pm ET. Closed captioning is available.
This meeting is facilitated by parents of children with mental health needs. This group provides opportunities to share valuable coping strategies and practical information that helps you support your loved ones experiencing mental health challenges.
Parents Anonymous
According to the Federal Title IV-E Prevention Clearinghouse, Parents Anonymous® is the ONLY culturally responsive program in the NATION that is proven to Effectively Improve Parenting, Enhance Mental Health and Reduce Substance Abuse while Ensuring Child Safety for diverse families with children and youth of all ages.
Parents of Addicted Loved Ones (PAL)
Parents with an adult child dealing with substance use disorder involving either drugs or alcohol find hope and support through Parents of Addicted Loved Ones (PAL). Meetings are available all over the country, and lives are being changed every day. It’s not an easy journey, but you don’t have to go at it alone.
Self-Management and Recovery Training (SMART) Recovery Family & Friends
SMART Recovery Family & Friends meetings are a dedicated space for those with loved ones who are struggling with addiction.
Sibling & Adult Child
Offered by NAMI-NYC for siblings or adult children of individuals with mental illness. This group provides opportunities to share valuable coping strategies and practical information that helps you support your loved ones experiencing mental health challenges.
Spanglish Family and Friends
Offered by NAMI-NYC, the Spanglish Family and Friends is for adults who identify as Hispanic, Latina, Latine, or Latino and have a loved one dealing with mental health issues. 3rd Tuesday, 6-7:30pm ET. Closed Captioning is available.
This group is held in English and Spanish.
Spouses and Partners
Spouses and Partners is a NAMI Family Support Group for spouses and other romantic partners of people living with a mental health condition. This peer-run group offers support in a welcoming and inclusive environment. Share your experiences, build community and learn from others with similar challenges. 4th Tuesday, 5:30 to 7pm ET.
Suicide Loss Survivors
For those who have lost a loved one to suicide, whether or not they were living with mental illness. This non-clinical group is for people who have lost a loved one with whom they had a direct in-person relationship. The loss must have occurred at least two months ago. 2nd Thursday of the month in-person at our office and 4th Thursday of the month virtually, 6-7:30pm ET.
This group is offered in partnership with The Samaritans NYC and is offered by NAMI-NYC.
Grief Support by Text
Grief Support for Those Who Have Lost Loved Ones to Substance Use. Losing a loved one to substance use is unimaginable. Let us help you through it.
Text LOSS to 55753 to get started.
Help & Hope by Text
Receive personalized support messages | Text JOIN to 55753
Our personalized text messaging program is designed to help you support your loved one and yourself whether your interest is in prevention, intervention, treatment or recovery.
Based upon answers to a few questions about your situation, we will deliver personalized practical parenting tips, tools, information and resources via text messages to your cell phone for up to 6 months of support – completely tailored to your situation.
NAMI-NYC Helpline
212-684-3264 | helpline@naminyc.org
Monday – Friday, 10 AM to 6 PM ET
If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, call 988 for the National Suicide Prevention and Lifeline or visit their website: www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org. Crisis counselors are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
When mental health is affecting you or someone you love, we can help. Whether you or a family member is struggling with their mental health, we can speak to you over the phone in English, Spanish, Chinese, and 180 other languages. We’ve expanded our Helpline to include calls from teens ages 14–17, with peers close in age with lived experience available to chat and provide support to our teen community members.
Partnership to End Addiction Helpline
1- 855- DRUGFREE | 1-855-378-4373 or Text CONNECT to 55753 to contact a specialist.
Specialists are available: Monday-Friday, 10am–8pm ET & Saturday & Sunday, 12pm–5pm ET
A toll-free, national helpline for parents whose children are abusing drugs or alcohol . The Helpline is staffed by trained and caring, bilingual, masters level parent support specialists who speak confidentially with callers and share helpful information.
Spanish Language Virtual Family Support offered by Hazelden Betty Ford
Our family program provides comfort and support to family members affected by addiction. Participants learn about addiction and recovery, and learn new ways to communicate and care for themselves.
Virtual Family Support offered by Hazelden Betty Ford
Our Family Access Coordinators provide personalized support to help you find the right programs for your family. Call or email today!
Addiction Education eBooks
Preventing and addressing addiction is a learning process. In addition to the information and perspectives we make available to read online, the following addiction education resources are designed to be printed, read at your convenience and used as a frequent reference.
Books on Codependency by Melody Beattie
A pioneering voice in self-help literature and the recovery movement, Melody Beattie is the author of many bestselling books—including The Language of Letting Go, Playing It by Heart, The Grief Club, Beyond Codependency, and The Codependent No More Workbook.
Co-Crazy: One Psychologist’s Recovery from Codependency and Addiction
Sarah Michaud’s *Co-Crazy: One Psychologist’s Recovery from Codependency and Addiction* is a compelling blend of memoir and self-help that invites readers into the profoundly personal journey of a psychologist grappling with her struggles with codependency and addiction. Through a quick-witted and relatable narrative, Dr. Sarah Michaud shares her story and provides readers with the tools to embark on their paths of self-discovery and healing.
Daily Al-Anon Meditations
Today’s Hope is a Recovery themed site with a focus on Friends and Families of Alcoholics and problem drinkers. The daily sharings contain a reading from Al-Anon’s Conference Approved publication The Forum, an inspirational quote/saying and a recovery based reading/meditation. The intent of Today’s Hope is to share experience, strength and hope. Please take what you like and leave the rest.
Family Match Program
Do you have a family member with mental health issues? Do you feel alone and overwhelmed? We can help.
Taking care of someone with a mental health issue can be isolating and overwhelming. We can connect you with free, one-on-one support from one family member to another, by telephone. Our three-month program matches you with someone whose family member has a similar relationship and diagnosis. Our mentors have “been there,” where you are, and are ready to provide emotional support.
Family to Family Resource Guide
This guide is written for THE FAMILIES of people who have not yet found recovery, families of people in recovery, and families who have lost someone due to addiction. It is for newcomers and old-timers alike. It can be used by individuals, families, friends and allies of those impacted by addiction, as well as prevention, treatment, and recovery service providers.
Mommy Goes to Meetings by Amy Liz Harris
This is a book for children about loving a family member who is struggling with substance abuse. It is part of the “Kiss Your Brain” series, which tackles mental health topics the author’s family—and all families—face. As a mother, a person in recovery, and a writer, Harrison felt inspired to create the “Kiss Your Brain” series of children’s books in 2023. With five stories written from a child’s point of view, this series addresses substance abuse, eating disorders, and other mental health issues in a way that appeals to even the littlest readers.
Resources for Families Coping with Mental and Substance Use Disorders
When a family member is experiencing a mental or substance use disorder, it can affect more than just the person in need of recovery. Evidence has shown that some people have a genetic predisposition for developing mental and substance use disorders, and may be at greater risk based on environmental factors such as having grown up in a home affected by a family member’s mental health or history of substance use. Families should be open to the options of support groups or family therapy and counseling, which can improve treatment effectiveness by supporting the whole family.
Understanding & Supporting a Loved One’s Recovery
Experiencing addiction second-hand can have lasting effects. Regardless of where a person may be in their recovery, the lives of those closest to them can become painful, complicated and overwhelming. Many OASAS-certified treatment programs and OASAS-run Addiction Treatment Centers offer treatment services for family members that have been impacted by substance use disorders. You can ask a treatment provider if they offer treatment to family members.
OASAS treatment programs may also employ a Family Support Navigator. Navigators are trained staff that help individuals and their families understand addiction and navigate the addiction services system.