Carrie M.

Peer Parent

I’m a mother of two amazing young men and two fur babies that I adore and can’t imagine life without. I’ve been married for almost 23 years to a super supportive man who has chosen to do this crazy journey of life with me. Before I became a Mom, I worked in NY City as a Textile Designer and Director of Product Development and Design for a total of 16 years, I was fortunate to eventually be able to stay at home and raise our boys. What began as a harrowing journey back in the winter and spring of 2019; the path of our older son struggling with substance abuse and mental health issues has turned into a journey of discovery and healing for our family and ourselves. It was slow going at first; we did what we were told we needed to and we believed that our son would be fixed by the programs we sent him to.

Not until our Son’s second go-around with Wilderness treatment and a New TBS were our blinders lifted; we were introduced to a Step Group and Parent created a Support group based on the principles of recovery. Here we found community, acceptance, compassion, and complete understanding of the struggles of having a child (no matter what their age) with substance abuse and mental health issue. We found a beautiful safe space; with NO judgment, total support, and loving-kindness. We had learned in recovery that peer support was a key to success for our struggling child but soon found that this was the key to our recovery as well. I feel that another important part of this was that we were with other parents that were going through similar situations that could totally “get it”. I cannot say enough about our tribe. As we say in our meeting “this is the family that we never knew we needed but are so thankful that we found”. The transformation we have seen in ourselves, our son, and in our family is a testament to how important it is to trust the process, show up and find other parents like you!! This is why I knew I needed to be part of OPLM, it was time for me to give back. Their mission and passion is clear; to help so many more Parents like us!!