Kids Who Know.

Many of us learn from the behaviors of our parents, which creates a cycle where we act as they did for good and bad. Doing the things that they did. Coping the same way that they coped with pain, hardship, and daily struggles. Meaning that children of parents who are addicted to drugs or alcohol are more likely to become addicted themselves later in life.

It’s a cycle that can be difficult to break as it’s unintentionally passed from one generation to the next. That’s why Carter County Drug Prevention (CCDP) has created the Kids Who Know program. This evidence-based psycho-educational support group is designed to help children of addicted parents build strength and foster resilience. It tackles six different topics with the children: addiction, feelings, problem solving, treatment & recovery, safe people, and coping. These lessons build healthy living skills for the child who has experienced the trauma of addition in their family and allows them the opportunity to learn about themselves while receiving support for their peers and group facilitators.

But Kids Who Know doesn’t just solve problems down the road for these children. It’s also filling the gap of high childcare cost for parents that are in self-help meetings like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA). The cost and availability of childcare has made it difficult for parents to gain access to the resources they desperately need since children are not able to attend meetings with their parents. Having the Kids Who Know meetings at the same time as the NA or AA meetings makes it where an additional childcare cost is not needed, and classes can even be taught in a complementary setting.

With this program, not only is childcare being provided, but children are learning valuable coping and life skills to eliminate the cycle of generational addiction that has plagued our region for far too long.

 

Click here to see all of our 2022-23 grant recipients 

 

About United Way of East TN Highlands
Serving Washington, Carter, Johnson and Southern Sullivan Counties, our goal is to break the cycle of poverty by uniting people and resources to strengthen the health, education and financial stability of every person in our community. Our vision is to be a community united to empower every person and organization to reach their full potential and achieve more. For more information about United Way of East TN Highlands, please visit www.UnitedWayETNH.org.

 

Share This