Healing Together
How ORU Grant Supports The Mom of an Addict, Inc.'s Mission
The Mom of an Addict, Inc. (TMOOA) recently received an Operation Round Up (ORU) grant from Kosciusko REMC. The Warsaw-based non-profit organization provides essential support and education to families navigating the challenges of having a loved one with Substance Use Disorder (SUD.)
SUD is a pervasive issue that affects millions of families across the United States. According to the Next Level Recovery Indiana, around half a million Hoosiers, or one in twelve of us, meet the criteria for SUD. We all have a friend, family member, neighbor, or colleague who suffers from the disease of addiction.
The impact of this disease extends beyond those directly afflicted, as families and communities bear the emotional and psychological toll of supporting loved ones in their battle against addiction. In this context, the work of organizations like TMOAA becomes not only vital but lifesaving.
TMOAA took the time to answer our questions about the organization and the powerful work they are doing in our community.
KREMC: Some of our members may not be aware of TMOAA. Please tell us how the organization began.
TMOAA: TMOAA started in the home of Jennifer Hope. The founding board members met around the board president’s dining room table and laid out the plan for the first support group meeting. The first meeting was held June 18, 2019, and over 65 people attended. Since then, we have expanded to five in-person meeting and two online meetings, serving over 500 annually. The support group meetings are free and open to the community.
KREMC: Who does your organization serve and how do you benefit the community?
TMOAA: We provide education regarding the disease known as SUD. We provide support to anyone navigating the journey of having a loved one with this disease.
One of our Warsaw meeting attendees has shared in the past:
“I am a mom of an adult son who battles SUD and has been battling this disease since he was 16 years of age. Our family has been through so much heartache and pain watching our loved one lose his identity to this disease. Not only does it affect the person battling the disease, it affects the family as well. There are not many support groups that are specific to a families need for education, resources and support. TMOAA actually has all three of these components and has helped my family understand the science of addiction, helped us learn better methods of communicating with our son, and has helped me become a voice for our loved ones who are stricken by this disease.
I will never forget attending my first meeting, I was scared...my self-talk was going a mile a minute, "Do I really belong here?", "Is my son really an addict?', "Am I really needing a support group?", "Am I overreacting to the issues, that my son is going through?" Then I arrived, walked in, was greeted with a warm welcome and invited in. I sat down and learned that I am not alone and got my first educational understanding of addiction. The educational part of the meeting ended with the tag line "There is always hope", (which I remind myself everyday now), then we broke into small groups for sharing with each other, All I kept saying to myself was, "WOW"..." I'm not alone", "That's my story to", or "Yeah, that's what our family is going through!" I decided that I was going to drive the 55 minutes every Tuesday because it was a place where I was with my peers, my tribe, a place where I was understood, a place where I was safe to share and get the support and resources our family needed!
I am so very thankful for TMOAA. The story of my son doesn't end with a recovery that we all want for our loved one, it's still in the making. His addiction had led him down a path that has him facing a long time in prison. This chapter is a devastating chapter, but with TMOAA support group, our family has the support it needs to get through this. I am so thankful and pleased that this support group exists in Warsaw now, and I now only drive about 10 minutes to attend a meeting every Thursday. -Kelly (Attends Warsaw meeting)
KREMC: TMOOA recently received an ORU grant. Can you share with our members how those grant funds were used?
TMOAA: The ORU funds were used to bring in guest instructors at a recent retreat held for our volunteer meeting leaders. A yoga instructor taught the benefits yoga and meditation offer for stress and led us in a yoga session. A retired nonprofit executive led us in a vision board exercise where we paused to think about our personal goals. A licensed family and marriage therapist shared ways we can process the trauma we have experienced personally along with the third-party or vicarious trauma we hear each week from our meeting attendees. Two of our own leaders walked us through the benefits of journaling and having a WRAP (wellness recovery action plan) for ourselves. The ORU funds were also used to purchase items that went in self-care kits for our volunteer meeting leaders.
KREMC: What impact have the ORU grant funds had on your organization and those you serve?
The leader retreat held at the end of April was a huge success. The overall results from the retreat are as follows.
Prior to the start of the retreat, participants responded:
45% use yoga and/or meditation to help relieve stress.
64% understand how yoga and/or mediation can help our bodies relax.
55% understand who they are, what they like to do and what their personal goals are.
0% regularly make a vision board.
100% have experienced trauma in relationship to their loved one’s substance use.
55% know how to process the trauma they have experienced.
100% regularly hear of other people’s trauma.
55% know how to process the trauma they hear from others.
36% understand WRAP (wellness recovery action planning).
9% use WRAP techniques in their daily life.
18% write or journal regularly.
18% understand how writing can help them process their feelings and experiences.
64% feel appreciated and valued.
At the close of the retreat, participants responded:
100% use or want to use yoga and/or meditation to help relieve stress.
100% better understand how yoga and/or mediation can help our bodies relax.
100% better understand who they are, what they like to do and what their personal goals are.
73% regularly make or want to make a vision board.
100% have experienced trauma in relationship to their loved one’s substance use.
100% better know how to process the trauma they have experienced.
100% regularly hear of other people’s trauma.
100% better know how to process the trauma they hear from others.
100% better understand WRAP (wellness recovery action planning).
91% use or want to use WRAP techniques in their daily life.
100% write or journal or want to write or journal regularly.
100% better understand how writing can help them process their feelings and experiences.
100% feel appreciated and valued.
This retreat was a huge benefit to our meeting leaders! Our leaders will be able to share what they learned with our meeting attendees who can then begin to incorporate the concepts into their personal lives and families. Here are a few responses we received from our meeting leaders who attended the retreat:
“I was very grateful to be able to attend the Leader Retreat for TMOOA. I have joined the Leadership Team fairly recently, so I really appreciated the chance to get to know some of the other leaders. The self-care activities were great. I especially appreciated the breathing techniques in the yoga session. The vision board was a great experience. I was reminded you don't get what you want if you aren't intentional about what that is. So applicable for people in recovery. I enjoyed hearing what pictures others were looking for and ultimately put on their boards to get to know the other leaders - great team building.
The session on processing trauma was very well done and I learned a lot. The wrap and journaling session was especially fun since leaders in our group presented it. Having the resources of the books we were given will be very helpful to my personal wellness. If I am healthy, I will be able to do a better job supporting those who attend the meetings. I appreciated the gifts to help me with self-care very much. Ending with dinner was a very nice way to process all the information from the day and hear about things seasoned leaders are doing in their meetings. By the way, lunch was delicious too. Thank you for this opportunity.” -Rita S.
“When I learned of this retreat, I was not exactly thrilled to give up an entire Saturday. I went to one yoga class in the past and left feeling extremely uncomfortable. I figured Jen had some good things up her sleeve, and I trust her, so I blocked off the day. I was more than pleasantly surprised and glad that I invested the time in myself. I left with an appreciation of yoga and a desire to do more of it. I actually enjoyed making the vision board very much, and it got me focused on who I am as an individual. It also helped me think about goals I have for myself, which is something I had all but forgotten. Learning from the therapist about what personal and vicarious trauma can do to our minds and bodies was invaluable. Marissa shared some tough stuff with us but made it not stressful at all. She gave us practical tools to use ourselves and with the people in our meetings. I was blown away by the journal that Kelly and Jen created, and I’m excited to dive into the journey to self-care. Lunch was delicious; dinner was too. I felt so loved and appreciated when we were all given amazing (and adorable) self-care bags full of all kinds of goodies… just for me. I’m so glad I went because I learned a lot and left feeling amazing.” - J.
“I found the leaders retreat to be very helpful to aid in my self-care as well as sharing information with our group members. The section where we discussed preparing for triggers was very beneficial. This is a topic that will not only benefit me but will also help our group members. The self-care discussion was very informative and provided good tools to use. It was a very productive retreat.” - Donna W.
“The leader retreat was more impactful than expected. First was the yoga and meditation. We forget how important it is to take care of our mind and body. The yoga will help me end each day with relaxation. The vision boards were fun are eye opening. How often do we think about where we are going and what we need. I was also moved by others perspective on their journey. Probably the hardest part was looking at our trauma also looking forward to healing. I do not generally journal through my days. The journal given to us is a step-by-step process that I’m looking forward to starting. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to enjoy and learn from you.” - Tina D.
“I thought the leader retreat was a great way for us to get together and learn some new material. It was relaxing, enjoyable and I greatly appreciate the opportunity to be together for fellowship and learning. I really enjoyed the trauma talk with the therapist and making our vision boards. Yoga was great and I am excited to start our writing unit in group in July.” -Errin
“I would just like to start by saying thank you for the grant you gifted our organization. Being able to be a part of this leader’s retreat was a gift for me at the most opportune moment. I am pursuing a college degree in addictions counseling, and I have been very aggressive in my pursuit of this degree so that I can receive my bachelor’s degree in about two and half years and my master’s degree in about three and a half years. I have not taken much time for myself, so this retreat was very much needed.
The agenda was perfect with each new item providing an emphasis on mind, body, and spirit. As the focus of the retreat was self-care, Jen provided classes in Yoga, creating vision boards, a guest speaker on self-care for the trauma responders that suffer from secondary PTSD, and the WRAP/journaling class.
I am a very private person. I came to this organization because I needed someone that knew what I was going through as I have two grown sons with substance use disorders and my husband (who is not their father) did not want to hear about addiction anymore. I never thought when I started coming to the meetings a little over two years ago that I would continue going to the meetings or being a part of the organization once my sons seemed to be doing well. This retreat was a time that we could see other leaders from the meetings we do not attend and spend time with them. At one point in time, I went to two different locations for meetings each week, so it was nice to spend time with those women and catch up with them.
We were able to learn new skills to help us learn how to take care of ourselves so that we are healthy and better able to take care of others. This is a skill that I am not so good at. I went to the retreat so that I could meet more of the ladies from the organization and feel like I am more a part of the organization, because I always feel like I am not doing my part, that I need to do more, not because these ladies make me feel this way, but because I honestly feel like I would have gone insane or worse if I had not been blessed to find this organization.
When I left this retreat, I felt so much better. The yoga was amazing. I had never made a vision board before, and I think it is a unique way to set goals that I plan to continue. The things that the guest speaker said resonated with me and made me realize that I still have some things that I need to process in my own life. I am utilizing the journal and WRAP materials that were provided every single day. I greatly appreciate everything that I learned, the bonding experience I was able to achieve, and the just the great day that I was able to have.” -Kathleen B.
KREMC: What are TMOAA’s future goals or projects?
TMOOA: To continue to let others know they are not alone and there is always hope. We will continue to hold support group meetings and to pour into our leaders.
KREMC: How can the community continue to support your organization?
TMOOA: Tell someone about us! You likely know someone, whether you realize it or not, who could use the education and support we offer.
KREMC: Is there anything else you would like to share about your organization or the impact of the ORU grant?
TMOOA: IT MADE A DIFFERENCE to our meeting leaders which will spill over to our meeting attendees. Thank you!
To learn more about TMOOA, find a meeting, or donate:
Website: www.themomofanaddict.org.
Facebook: The Mom of An Addict Inc.
Phone: (260) 209-4686
Email: info@themomofanaddict.org