Parents Empowering Parents (PEP) is a unique organization whose important work supporting families impacted by substance use or addiction has contributed to community safety and well being (CSWB) in Strathcona County (SC) for 20 years.

The staff of PEP are professional facilitators who are trained in addiction recovery and trauma-informed care. They draw on their professional expertise and wealth of experience and knowledge to facilitate support groups that help families in a number of important ways, including:

• Providing a safe place to confidentially share their pain and to find hope;
• Helping family members reconnect with their community, social, and work connections;
• Sharing compassion and empathy about a family’s experience with addiction; and
• Supporting family members to step into health and recovery.

The staff of PEP have developed a deep understanding of needs in our community and are beginning a new pilot program in Spring of 2024 called URise. The new program will respond to an existing need for support for youth with a family member experiencing substance use or addiction.   

Youth and young adults may have parents, guardians, or siblings with addiction challenges and there are few existing supports that are targeted to the unique needs of these youth. Drawing on their two decades of experience supporting family recovery, PEP will soon expand their programming to include a facilitated program focused on youth and their specific needs in the context of family recovery from addiction.  

In the new pilot program, two professional facilitators will meet with youth weekly for 8-week increments. The program will require registration and will provide a safe place to learn about addiction and how to manage relationships with family members experiencing addiction in a healthy way. In addition to the learning component, the program will also provide youth with peer and adult support. The new program will take place after school at Next Step Sherwood Park, which is located inside Salisbury Composite High School.

In a CSWB Community Engagement that took place in 2021, participants discussed a particular concern for youth mental health and identified a need for more mental health and wellness supports for this population who experience unique needs and challenges. The new PEP Pilot Program is an important addition to supports for youth in our community and will also, like PEP’s other programming, help build connection and belonging and support mental health for participants. Connection and mental health and/or addictions are two strategic priorities of the SC CSWB Strategy, and the work of PEP aligns directly with these two important priorities for action.

If you know someone who may be interested in the new pilot program for youth with a family member impacted by substance use or addiction, please email info@pepsociety.ca or contact PEP’s Head office at 780-410-8516 for more information. Visit www.pepsociety.ca for more information on other programs and services.