Children of Alcoholics Awareness Week brings needed attention to the most vulnerable victims of addiction, says Betty Ford Center Children's Program

"When one in four American children live with a family member suffering from a substance use disorder, it's important to know where to go for help," said Jerry Moe, National Director of the Betty Ford Center Children's Program. "That's why the Betty Ford Center Children's Program participates in the National Association for Children of Alcoholics' (NACoA) annual week of awareness events and programs."

The Betty Ford Center Children's Program is part of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, the nation's largest nonprofit provider of addiction treatment and recovery resources. It provides the education and support girls and boys ages 7-12 need to stay healthy and safe when their parent has a substance use disorder.

Since its inception in 1983, the Children's Program has helped thousands of kids and families cope with the challenges and difficulties of addiction. No family is ever turned away from our Children's Program due to inability to pay.

"We have long worked in lockstep with NACoA in its efforts to help alleviate children's suffering," Moe said. "The Betty Ford Center Children's Program knows the significance of breaking the silence of addiction in order for healing to begin."

"The family members hurt most by addiction are the children," he added. "They often experience mental, emotional and physical problems and are at a greater risk of neglect and abuse when exposed to addiction at an early age. These children also have a good chance – two to four times – of developing addiction later in life. That's why it's important to break the cycle of addiction."

(Watch a short video about the Betty Ford Center Children's Program and the counseling it provides.)

"Events like Children of Alcoholics Awareness Week help draw attention to this national problem," Moe said. "Given the rise in substance use disorders, particularly the rampant opioid addiction we've seen across the country, it's vital that we as a community know where to turn when addiction strikes our family or those we know."

About the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation
The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation helps people reclaim their lives from the disease of addiction. It is the nation's largest nonprofit treatment provider, with a legacy that began in 1949 and includes the 1982 founding of the Betty Ford Center. With 16 sites in California, Minnesota, Oregon, Illinois, New York, Florida, Massachusetts, Colorado and Texas, the Foundation offers prevention and recovery solutions nationwide and across the entire continuum of care for youth and adults. It includes the largest recovery publishing house in the country, a fully-accredited graduate school of addiction studies, an addiction research center, an education arm for medical professionals and a unique children's program, and is the nation's leader in advocacy and policy for treatment and recovery. Learn more at www.HazeldenBettyFord.org and on Twitter @hazldnbettyford.

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SOURCE Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

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