About Us
The Family Restored is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with the mission to strengthen and support families affected by addiction. We accomplish this mission by offering family support groups, 12-step workshops, and scholarships to help pay for treatment and recovery housing for those who cannot afford it. The Family Restored’s scholarship program was founded to provide treatment opportunities for those seeking 12-Step based treatment. We partner specifically with treatment facilities and recovery residences that are grounded in the 12-step model of recovery. We understand there are many pathways that meet the diverse needs of those suffering from addiction and fully embrace the freedom for people to choose their own treatment pathway.
Our Story
The Family Restored (TFR) began in 2011 in Portland, Maine when a small group of people in recovery started a support meeting to help families understand and navigate their loved one’s addiction. This group knew from experience how their addiction had hurt their families and loved ones. As facilitators they offered a unique perspective to educate, inform, and inspire hope for families.
During the course of the support meetings, facilitators heard families speak repeatedly about one daunting challenge – how to pay for treatment. While families were eager to support their loved ones through their treatment and recovery, families often did not have the financial resources to pay for care and treatment. Consequently, many people struggling with addiction who desired treatment could not get the care they desperately sought and needed. Witnessing the families’ dedication and commitment to improving the health and well being of their loved ones, several of the facilitators were inspired to make a difference.
They had an idea – establish a scholarship fund to help families pay the treatment and recovery housing costs for their loved one. They believed lives could be restored with access to treatment. They knew recovery was possible. They saw it happening on a daily basis. In 2014, they created and launched The Family Restored.
What We Do
The Family Restored Support Group
Our support group is an interactive and educational support group for families coping with a loved one’s addiction. Family members have the opportunity to ask questions, discuss their concerns, and build community with other families in a supportive and non-judgmental environment. Meetings are facilitated by people in recovery who provide a unique and insightful first-hand account of addiction. Facilitators provide an honest perspective on how to approach a loved one and strive to inspire hope.
Scholarships for Treatment
Through our family support group meetings, we discovered one of the greatest barriers individuals seeking recovery faced when seeking treatment was the lack of health insurance or financial resources to pay for care. To overcome the financial barrier, TFR established a scholarship program to help families pay for treatment and/or recovery housing.
Advocacy
We aim to alter public and professional attitudes toward addiction recovery. We advocate for meaningful representation and are the voice for people in recovery and their families at local and state policy levels on issues that affect their lives. We educate the public, policymakers, and service providers about the prevalence and possibility/potential of addiction recovery. We celebrate recovery through public recovery celebration events that offer living proof of the transformative power of recovery.
Education
We have a speaker’s bureau that can provide community education, information and resources on matters relating to addiction and its impact on individuals, families and the community. We promote the understanding that addiction is a disease and recovery is possible. One of our roles is to be a resource hub. Through our website, families can connect with other members, find information about addiction services and locate other community resources.
12 Step Workshops
The Family Restored offers Big Book workshops for: family members attending our Family Support Group meetings and to inmates at the Cumberland County Jail (CCJ). Our Big Book Workshops are a series of 12-step Big Book groups led by staff and volunteers from the 12-step community. The objective is to take participants through the first 5 ½ chapters of the book Alcoholics Anonymous and into writing their fourth step. Participants are then given the resources needed to continue in their own step work.