TESTIMONIALS

From Evaluators

“The developers of Celebrating Families! ™ are remarkable. That they have created

such an incredible intervention program that is resilience based, caring,

thoughtful and so playful is wonderful. It is important to acknowledge

that this team is primarily voluntary and the budget small.”

Rivka Greenberg, Ph.D.

From Participants

“This program is about healing my family. It’s different from all the other

parenting programs I have attended.”

“ Learning what my child is going through even when he has no words.”

“How much work is going to be put into keeping Miguel sober!”

“Say no to the ones who need to be told no.”

“I am scared of my disease.”

From the Children

“Thank you for helping my Mom stop doing drugs because now she plays

with me and isn’t always mad!”

- A 7-year old

From Group Leaders

“I learned more about working with children in the past fifteen weeks

than in five years of school!”

“Children participating in Celebrating Families!™ become more self-confident

once they learn that they are not alone and that many families struggle with addiction.

You see these young children walk away with the courage to say ’no’ and to tell someone about what is going on in their home, so they may get help. They take great pride each week in sharing the information and knowledge they learned during Family Time. “

The most powerful feedback came from a mother whose drug-addicted child committed

suicide the second week of the group. She shared that “I don't think I could

have made it through without this group”.

Wellbriety Celebrating Families!™

Watching Participants Learn

A Mom asking, “What is an alcoholic?” When it’s explained saying “My dad is an alcoholic!”

A Mom saying, “I hug my kids and tell them I love them now. I just don’t know why I didn’t do it before…perhaps I was embarrassed, but not anymore!”

A single mom of a third grade student with behavior and social issues sharing her story of her drug use while pregnant and as a young mother. Tearfully, she saying ” if I’d known then what I’ve learned through Celebrating Families!™, things would have been different!”

Mentor Parents 3-5 years after attending Celebrating Families!™ Sessions

Mentor Parents are graduates from the Family Treatment Court provided by Social Services to help families connect with services. They help increase family engagement and resiliency and function as auspices of a court system.

What do you practice today that you learned in CF!?

How to say affirmations to my children.
Showering my kids with love and hugs.
Always being able to tell my kids every day that I love them.
Taking time for each of my kids.
Dinner time - sitting down to eat together as a family.
The importance of just spending time and being present with and for my kids.
Being consistent with everything I do.
Setting a healthy routine.
Importance of communicating and bonding with our kids.
Communicating, listening, reading, singing, playing and being there for my children.
Learning what my child is going through even when no words are said.
Babies have feelings.
How emotions affect my parenting.
The need to be calm myself before dealing with a situation.
How addiction can affect my children and ways to change those patterns.
How to be a loving mother.
Importance of family time.

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What I do reflects on my son.
The brain scans were so very interesting and informative. Helped me know how my use affected my brain and that my brain can heal.
What my childhood was like and how I want my child's to be different.
The importance of being honest with my children.
The importance of creating a safe, secure and serene household for my children.
Let my child keep his boundaries when possible; respecting when my children say "no!"
Being there to comfort my children when they need me.
My body belongs to only me.
How to recognize healthy and unhealthy boundaries.
I need many new friends.
How serious FASD is.
How I can help my child set limits and what is age appropriate discipline for her.
Being consistent.
Walk the talk.

One of the first skills CF! teaches is the importance of regularly giving children affirmations. Affirmations are short, positive statements which communicate to children they are valued and capable.

Affirmations include:

I love you!

I delight in you!

I want to protect you!

I'm glad you are a girl/boy!

I delight in watching you!

Stories of impact of Celebrating Families!™ from Parisi House on the Hill, Santa Clara County (CA) Residential Treatment Facility for Women with Young Children.

Before entering treatment and participating in Celebrating Families!™ “M”was running the streets,” high on cocaine and leaving her daughter in the constant care of grandfather. For the past three years she reported a history of admitting herself to Alcohol & Other Drug Treatment, leaving, relapsing, legal troubles and incarcerations. “M” recalls that she felt her daughter was a burden and got in the way of her lifestyle. Following the threat of losing her daughter to the child’s father, “M” came to the realization that she wanted to get clean and retain guardianship of her child.

Much transformation took place as “M” and her father participated in the sixteen week round of Celebrating Families!. Through the insight gathered from weekly group sessions “M” acknowledged generational patterns of use and domestic violence in partnerships. She embraced new coping skills. She gained self-awareness, acceptance of her feelings and the ability to communicate and express feelings in a healthy way. “M” was able to incorporate skills learned in Celebrating Families!™ to improve relationships with her daughter, parents, and to establish healthy boundaries with a significant other.

“M” had estranged relationships with her father and mother stemming from the chaos brought on by her and her father’s use when she was a child. Due to the frequent abandonment by “M”, her daughter perceived grandfather as her parental figure. It took a significant amount of time, effort and commitment for her to work her recovery process, and to improve relations with her parents and her two-year-old daughter.

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A memorable moment in this series was observing the interactions and healing of a three- generation family: Grandmother, Mother “J” (House on the Hill client) and her daughters, 11 and 17 years old. All three generations had experienced drug use and familial abuse resulting in cyclical chaos that appeared to be continuing with the 17 year old.

Through Celebrating Families!™, grandmother, “J” and her daughters reported willingness to understand one another. Through the course, several life changing events occurred including Grandmother’s and granddaughters’ relocation to Fresno to provide a safer environment for the grandchildren. “J” was able to verbalize feelings of gratitude intermingled with feelings of loss due to the greater distance that her children and grandmother would be residing from her. “J” stated that she had gained communication skills that enabled her to recognize and verbalize her mixed feelings, rather than covering her painful feelings with defenses.

"J" was able to verbalize feelings of gratitude intermingled with feelings of loss due to the greater distance that her children and grandmother would be residing from her. "J" stated that she had gained communication skills that enabled her to recognize and verbalize her mixed feelings, rather than covering her painful feelings with defenses.