Erika Holliday, MPH
Mid-America Addiction Technology Transfer Center
Inspiration can often come from collaboration and growth
amongst like-minded individuals. Finding a community that shares critical life
experiences can transform into impactful change at the organizational and
community level. Creating such community was an unforeseen joy that sprouted
from one of the Mid-America ATTC’s latest programs, “Providing Peer Based
Recovery Support Services for Pregnant and Parenting Families,” a two part
training and 6-week learning collaborative for peer specialists/recovery
coaches and supervisors of peer specialists who want to develop expertise in
serving pregnant and parenting families impacted by substance use and/or opioid
dependence. The National Opioid Response Network developed the training
curriculum and Mid-America ATTC requested permission to pilot the curriculum.
In collaboration with the regional ORN TAP J 15.
The training was created by Sharon Hesseltine, the President
and CEO of New Beginnings Consulting and Training, and Lonnetta Albright,
President and Owner of Moving Forward Inc. The training focused on being
recovery-oriented, and person-centered, and looked at key functions such as
recovery planning. Challenges from working in diverse settings such as health
care or child welfare were explored as well as aspects of the work that is
unique to Peers who support pregnant and parenting families. The training also looked
at the relationship around the process of becoming a family through pregnancy,
delivery and parenting babies who have experienced Neonatal Abstinence
Syndrome and/or Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome
(NAS/NOWS.)
The Peers training was a great success. The training evaluation
indicated that 100% of participants deemed it to be useful, would recommend it
to others, and were confident they could apply what they learned to their work
as Peer Recovery Support Specialists, or a supervisor of Peer Specialists. More
than learning new, important skills, participants indicated they found a new
sense of community. One of the participants shared these thoughts with the
Mid-America ATTC about the training:
“I have not had training in this area so it was very helpful
and reminded me that the effects of mood-altering substances start at
conception for our little ones. I really enjoyed getting to collaborate with
other professionals in different states on how they run their organizations. I
will definitely be focusing on building on strengths with our ladies and
pointing out the strengths that our children have and how that plays a role in
our daily lives as parents. Thank you so much for the opportunity to get to
learn more and make new friends.”
Another participant shared:
“As a recovery coach I have the experience of my own
recovery as a tool that can be used to help those new to recovery. With this
training I was able to fill my tool bag. So much I learned! Thank you for
sharing the wisdom that was given. I can only hope that I will be able to make
an impact on the lives of others I get to help.”
The Mid-America ATTC is so pleased to assist in providing
impactful knowledge and relationships with those on the ground who are making an
effective difference in the field of substance use recovery. With the
overwhelming success of this training, we plan to offer it again in 2021, and
potentially more often as the work continues.
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