February 3, 2017  | 

Organization Highlight: Learn To Cope

Addiction is often considered a family disease due to its impact on the mental and physical health of everyone involved.

Learn to Cope (LTC), a peer-led support network founded in 2004, offers parents and families the support and resources they need when dealing with addiction and most specifically, offers hope in helping family members who are affected by the opioid crisis.

LTC’s creator Joanne Peterson started the non-profit based on her own experiences having watched her son overcome heroin addiction and enter long-term recovery. With funding from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, LTC offers meetings for parents and families with a goal of providing peer-support, education, and messages of hope. Meetings focus on educating members on the disease of addiction, sharing experiences, and learning from guest speakers who are in long-term recovery or professionals in the field. In Massachusetts, meetings also offer overdose education and Narcan (naloxone) training. LTC hosts a forum for private online support which has proved to be a valuable and growing resource over the years.

LTC has rapidly expanded over the past decade with 23 chapters in Massachusetts and recent expansion to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Meetings will continue to expand to other states as parents from South Carolina, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania will be traveling to Massachusetts (where LTC is based out of) for the next facilitator training.

Visit Learn to Cope on their website, Facebook, and Twitter for more information.